Forever Connected
by bluejaygal
Summary: Alternate history JoLu. Johnny and Lulu have mastered co-parenting their son from afar, but when their living arrangements bring them closer, will they be able to keep their arrangement friendly amidst family, new romances and the danger surrounding them?
1. Prelude

_**This story is an alternate history JoLu story that I started awhile back. The history will unfold as you read. Let me know if you would like me to continue.**_

**PREFACE**

"Brayden Joseph! Come on little man, where is Mommy's book?"

Lulu knew that negotiating with a toddler was fighting a losing battle, but was at a loss for another tactic. She had already overslept, and due to ridiculous rules at the university daycare, now had to drive an extra twenty minutes out of her way to drop her son off before taking one last final.

"Uck!" the little voice called from his room. Lulu could not help but crack a smile at his pronunciation of the work 'truck'. "Vroom!"

Giving up on the fantasy that Brayden would give her the answer she needed, she decided to forego the last minute cramming session and the bowl of cereal she was going to eat during it altogether. Instead, she turned around to get her child dressed.

"Ow!"

She looked down towards the throbbing pain and realized that Brayden's truck had gone rogue right into her shin.

"B, let's hope this day gets better, because I don't think I can afford to fail this exam."

(1 hour later)

"No, you must not have been listening the first two times I told you, so let me repeat this again. I need you to clear my schedule for the day."

Johnny stared at the screen on his laptop. His calendar was packed with meetings regarding potential business partners in the Boston area. These were the days that made him regret building up a legitimate business in his name, but he had two huge incentives to spend more time in Boston, and today was a perfect example of why his strategy had been paying off.

"Absolutely not. I am clearing the calendar for the entire day, understood?"

He slammed his finger against the end button on the phone and began gathering the paperwork off of the bed in his hotel suite. It was moments like these when he wished he would have gone ahead and purchased his own place in Boston by now. He had spent way too many nights in rooms just like this one.

The knock at the door pushed Johnny's regrets aside. He knew most men would see an unscheduled weekday with their child as an inconvenience, but instead, Johnny was thrilled to have extra time with Brayden. He rushed to hide the paperwork in front of him before opening the door and plastering a big smile on his face.

"Da!" Brayden shrieked, holding his arms out to Johnny, who happily obliged him, planting a kiss on his cheek as he gathered him in his arms. It had only been two weeks since they had last seen one another, but the baby seemed to have grown drastically.

"I'm so sorry to spring this on you at the last minute. I just can't miss this exam," Lulu babbled, letting herself into the hotel room and closing the door behind her.

"Lulu, I already told you on the phone; it's no big deal. I am happy to empty my calendar and spend the day with the little monster here."

Johnny knew that his words were not going to sink in with Lulu. She held herself to an impossible standard of single parenthood, and no amount of help from anyone, especially him, would ever change that.

"I should be done by 5, so by the time I get back out here, he may need dinner," she thought aloud, paying no attention to his comment. "I packed a box of rice cereal for him, and if you want to cut up some bananas and throw them in, he loves that. I figured the hotel would charge a lot for fruit, so I put some organic bananas in the side pocket of the diaper bag."

"Actually," Johnny started, setting the squirming child on the ground, "I was thinking that I could bring Brayden back towards your side of town. Maybe we could take you out to dinner to celebrate…"

"What are we celebrating?" she questioned, rummaging through the diaper bag that was still sling across her body. It took a lot of self control to prevent Johnny from laughing at her. She finally pulled out the desired object - Brayden's sippy cup - and handed it to him.

Johnny took the cup from her, unable to ignore the feeling of their fingertips brushing against one another for a brief, yet beautiful, moment. The contact sent shockwaves through his chest, but he quickly regained his composure. It was not the time to let his feelings distract him. Instead, he helped her remove the diaper bag from her shoulder.

"We are celebrating the fact that you're done with school."

She shook her head once her arm was free of the heavy accessory. "I still have to pass my boards next month. I am just done with the classroom stuff."

"You finished your nursing degree in record time, all while raising our son, practically by yourself. It's a big deal, and I have no doubt that you will pass your boards with ease. Come on, it's one dinner. I'm sure it will be better than the cup of noodles you'll inevitably make for yourself by the time you get home and get Brayden to bed..."

"I don't..."

"Hey, Brayden..." he interrupted her refusal, pulling his attention from the wheel on the bottom of the desk chair that had infatuated him, "Mommy deserves a treat, right?"

"Tee... Tee!" he repeated with enthusiasm, clapping his hands together.

"Using the kid? That's a low blow, Zacchara," she rolled her eyes and pulled her car keys from her purse. "Fine, we'll have dinner. But nothing extravagant. We can grab a pizza or something."

"You here that, B? She said yes, so it's a promise. And Mommy knows not to break promises."

"Nice," she murmured under her breath before turning her attention to our son.

"Get over here, little man," she called, gathering Brayden in her arms when he dashed over to her. "You be good for Daddy, ok? Don't let him spoil you. And I'll see you for dinner. Now give me a big kiss for luck on my test."

She ran her fingers through the black curls on his head and kissed him before passing him back to Johnny.

"I should be home by 6, so come by my place and we'll go from there. And Johnny, I'm serious. Please do not spoil him too much."

_(5:45 p.m.)_

Lulu glanced at the clock on her dashboard when she pulled into the parking garage in her building. The exam had been more intense than she had anticipated, leaving her at a new level of exhaustion. Now she had only fifteen minutes left until Johnny and Brayden would be at the doorstep to go to dinner. She thought that being finished with the test would ease her nerves, but the impending evening made the anxiety intensify.

As she walked up the stairs to her apartment, her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket. She was able to ignore it the entire drive home from school, but now as Lulu reached her doorstep, she gave in and answered it.

"Maxie! I only have 10 minutes to shower and change before dinner. So please, I'm begging you... Make it fast."

"Ooh, dinner? I'm glad you finally took my advice and got yourself back in the game. Who is the guy? Some hot med student? I knew that you went into nursing school to hook up with some kind of sexy surgeon…"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no guy," Lulu groaned, traversing the floor full of toys until she reached the bathroom. Although Maxie has been the cause of her breakup with Johnny, she had been an incredible friend throughout Lulu's pregnancy and ever since. She did not agree with Lulu allowing Johnny to spend time with Brayden, so Lulu avoided going into more detail and turned the tables on her friend. "And why are you interrogating me when you are the one who owes an explanation here?"

"What's that?" she feigned innocence through the phone as Lulu flipped the phone on speaker and made her way into the shower.

"Maxie, I never sent my resume to General Hospital. So I did find it odd when Epiphany called me to offer me an interview on the exact same day that Brayden and I get into town for your wedding."

"Lulu, that's great! You know, GH is an incredible hospital. It would do wonders for your career if you work there. I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that I don't live in Port Charles anymore, and that is for very good reason."

"But you totally could move back here. Think about it, Lulu. If you moved back here, you would have a ton of great babysitters, not to mention that Brayden could spend more time with family. I know his uncles and cousins would love it. You would too."

Lulu chose not to point out the fact that Maxie left Johnny out of the list of Brayden's family. "Weren't you the one who drove me to the airport back when I moved to Boston? You said that Port Charles was not safe for me or for Brayden."

"Things are different now," Maxie disagreed. "You know that."

Before Lulu could pose a rebuttal, she heard a knock at the door. "Shoot... Maxie, I have to go."

"Why? Who is there?"

"Annabelle," Lulu spat out Brayden's babysitter's name immediately as she finished and turned off the shower. At this point, she would feed Maxie any lie to get off of the phone. "Goodbye, Maxie."

"Fine, but this is not over. You are going to that interview..."

Lulu stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body and hitting the end button on her phone before Maxie could continue her lecture. She turned her attention to the continued knocking on her front door and held the towel tight against her body as she went to answer it.

"Sorry, I'm running a little late," she explained. "I just need ten minutes."

Johnny remained in the hallway. Lulu realized at that moment that he had never actually stepped foot inside of her apartment. He had picked Brayden up and brought him home several times, but the transfer was usually quick and always took place in the lobby downstairs.

"Come on in," she offered, stepping aside to let him in. "Sorry the place is such a mess."

He smirked and placed Brayden on the floor next to a pile of children's books. "You should see my hotel room after a few hours with this kid. We had a blast, but I'm sure that housekeeping will deserve every bit of their tip tomorrow."

"I only packed a few toys – how can it be that ba-" She stopped herself before continuing. "Did you take him to the toy store?"

"No, it was more like a bookstore that happened to have _educational activities_," he clarified.

"Johnny, you have to stop spoiling him. I don't want Brayden growing up thinking that he can have anything he wants because you have money."

"Because _I_ have money? Are you having money issues, Lulu? Because I am happy to pay child support…"

"That's not what I was getting at," she interrupted, "I'm fine with money. And I don't want to get into the child support debate again. I just want our son to be well grounded and know the value of hard work."

"Which is exactly why I wanted to take you both to dinner tonight. You have been working your tail off since before he was even born to get your degree and provide for him all at the same time. He's got a great role model in the work ethic department, and we should celebrate that in front of him."

Instead of arguing with him, Lulu shook her head and turned to get dressed. "Ten minutes, then we'll go."

(8:45 p.m.)

"To Mommy," Johnny raised his wine glass and helped Brayden lift his sippy cup in a toast. He watched Lulu's cheeks fill with crimson heat and found it adorable. She had not stopped protesting all night: not when he pulled in front of the Italian café down the block from her apartment, not when he ordered a bottle of her favorite wine and especially not when the dessert he had pre-ordered came out of the kitchen. "She worked super hard to finish school, and she is going to be the best nurse ever."

Lulu rolled her eyes before humoring me and lifting her glass to tap against mine. "Okay, I think that's enough."

"Come on, now. I know that you haven't been out to eat in awhile, but that is no excuse to poorly toast on a special occasion," he taunted. "Take a sip."

"You're incorrigible," she groaned, putting the glass to her lips and taking a swig. She was wearing a pale pink lipstick with the smallest shine that made it difficult for Johnny to stop thinking about kissing her. When she pulled the glass away from her mouth, the small grin on her face made him relieved that she was not about to storm out of the restaurant and leave him disappointed.

"So, _Nurse Spencer_, what's next for you? Any job interviews lined up?"

She bit the corner of her lower lip briefly, but enough to make him realize that there was something about the answer to his question that she was not sure she would want to share with him. "I've sent resumes to every hospital within a 50 mile radius, but I haven't heard anything."

"Well, I'm sure something will come up soon," he reassured, taking a bite of the tiramisu in front of him. "When do you take your boards?"

"Two weeks," she answered, "Just in time to make the trip for Maxie's wedding. Speaking of which, Maxie told me that Matt invited you."

"He did, but I told him that I would pass on the invitation if you're not ready for that. I mean, you're the maid of honor, so if my being there makes you uncomfortable, I will get out of town or something for the weekend."

"Don't be ridiculous," she shook her head. "I think we've come a long way from where we were when I left Port Charles. I only brought it up because Maxie wants Brayden to be the ring bearer."

"And if I'm going to be there, you're going to tell her no," he finished her sentence, masking the disappointment in his voice.

"Johnny, we've been through this. It's nothing personal. It's just… very few people know that you're Brayden's father," she started, choosing her words very carefully. "We both agreed that it was safer that way. And if it were a few months ago, before he was talking, it wouldn't be a big deal for you to be in the same room with him in Port Charles. But he is talking and he adores you. It won't take long for him to out you as his father in front of the entire town, and that will put him in danger."

"That's the last thing I want," he agreed. "I get it. And to be honest, I am incredibly grateful that you let me spend any time with our son."

"You're a great father," Lulu continued, reaching over her dessert and putting her hand over his. "I regret ever trying to keep him away from you. I wish it were simpler, you know?"

"Like if I had never cheated on you with Maxie?"

The boldness of Johnny's question surprised even himself. He had gone down that road many times before in his head, but they had not discussed the reason for their breakup since the night that Lulu finally admitted to him that Brayden was his son.

"I don't think it's healthy for us to go there," Lulu asserted, taking her hand back and turning her attention to Brayden, who was happily pounding his sippy cup against the high chair tray.

"Do you ever think about it?" Johnny pressed.

She lifted the baby out of his seat and pulled him onto her lap. She sighed before looking back at Johnny. "When I was pregnant, I thought about it all the time. But we're completely different people now."

"Sure, we've changed," he agreed, "But people spend their entire lives together, and they are bound to grow and change in that time."

"You know what? It's getting late," Lulu interjected. "And this little guy should have been in bed an hour ago. We should go."

"Sure," Johnny smiled, covering his disappointment that she was so quick to dismiss his curiosity.

(9:30 p.m.)

"Thanks for carrying him up," Lulu told Johnny as she unlocked the door to her apartment. "I can't believe that we didn't even finish strapping him into his car seat before he passed out."

"Well, in his defense, we had an awesome day," he whispered, running his fingers through Brayden's hair.

She opened the door and stepped out of the way for Johnny to bring him inside. "Thank you, again, for everything. Stepping in at the last minute with him today and dinner… it was very… nice."

"So you don't think we freaked him out by spending more than two minutes in the same room together?" he joked.

"No, I think it's good for him to see us getting along," Lulu answered, reaching to take Brayden out of Johnny's arms.

"Actually, do you mind if I tuck him in tonight?"

"Oh, sure… go ahead," Lulu agreed, realizing that aside from naps, Johnny had never had the pleasure of bedtime duty. She watched Johnny disappear with their son into his bedroom and exhaled when they were out of her view. The evening was almost complete, but her anxiety was at an all-time high.

She was surprised at how much she enjoyed dinner with Johnny. They had not shared a conversation that was not about pediatricians or babysitting schedules in eighteen months. She hated to admit it, but she had missed him.

But as soon as he brought up the possibility of what would have happened if they had stayed together, she felt nauseous. It had taken the entire length of her pregnancy for her to get over Johnny, and after that, every time she looked at their son, she was reminded of the man who took her breath away from that very first night they met when she was hitchhiking. Their situation was beyond complicated now, and she could not let happy memories cloud her judgment.

No, it was much better for her to keep their lives as separate as possible. She vowed not to tell Johnny about her job interview in Port Charles, because it was a mute point. As tempting as it was to think about being surrounded by family again, going back home would change everything.

"He stirred a little, but it took about three seconds of the singing to get him back to sleep," Johnny's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned around as he closed the door to Brayden's room. Lulu headed for the door, wanting to get him out of her apartment before she lost her nerve.

"So I guess I'll see you in a few weeks at the wedding, huh?" she remarked.

"Lulu," he remarked as he approached her. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable before. I just… I need you to know that you and Brayden are the most important thing in my life. You're my family, so sometimes I wish we had a different arrangement. But I would never force anything or push for more than what you are comfortable with."

"I know," she nodded, finding herself entranced by his dark eyes for a brief moment. She almost leaned in to give him a hug, but stopped herself, instead pulling open her front door to let him out.

"Goodnight, Johnny."

"Night, Lu."

After the door was locked behind her, Lulu slid down the door and took a seat on the floor.

"17 more years," she thought out loud. "I just have to keep myself in check for 17 more years…"


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"_You owe me at least an explanation…"_

"_I don't owe you anything! You ended us, remember? Everything that we were, what we had – if it were three months ago, maybe I would owe you then, but now? You need to stay away from me and stop questioning everybody I know about my personal business."_

"_Lulu..."_

"_Back off, Johnny!"_

"Hello? Earth to Johnny?" 

Johnny drew his attention up from the apple cider which had him held in a trance to find Ethan giving him a puzzled look. The last time he had enjoyed some of Kelly's apple cider was two years ago, and that afternoon ended in a horrible confrontation with Lulu. She was headed back to Port Charles today for the first time since she had moved away, and he prayed that this day would not end the same way.

"Sorry. I don't know where I went there," he explained.

"I think I do," Ethan replied, pulling up a chair to join Johnny at the small table outside of the diner. "Lulu's coming home today."

"So?"

The glare Ethan shot him was unnecessary; Johnny already realized he sounded like a child defending himself against cooties.

"The least you could do is own up to your feelings for my sister to me. After all, I have vouched for you with her many times."

"Lulu is the mother of my son," Johnny explained, lowering his voice so that nobody would hear his confession of paternity, "So I'll always care. But we've been through this – I do not have feelings for her beyond that."

"Bullshit," Ethan laughed. "Look, I didn't track you down to torture you into a lovesick confession. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Word on the street is that Sonny is looking to make a move on one of your dad's properties. I know that your sister is handling that side of the business from Italy, but it's not exactly the best week for any wars to be breaking out."

"Meaning?" Johnny questioned, looking for clarification.

"Lucky has his overprotective big brother cap on nice and tight with Lulu and Brayden heading back to town. His influence at the PCPD is strong. He'll have every single bloke in that department all over you this week, so even if something happens that you have no part of, he'll find a reason to keep you in lockup until they are back in Boston."

"Good to hear your brother is still my number one fan," Johnny remarked snidely.

"All I'm saying is make sure your sister has control of the Zacchara territory," Ethan directed, getting back on his feet. "I'm off to occupy some future donors to the Lovett family trust at the blackjack tables."

"Best of luck to you."

Johnny watched Ethan walk away and pulled out his cell phone. Calling Claudia with an unspecific warning would only make her curious. Claudia's curiosity typically led to unplanned visits and constant badgering, all of which would complicate his life at a bad time. He stopped himself from dialing her number, electing instead to come up with a list of distractions that would keep him busy enough to avoid running into Brayden and Lulu until the wedding the next day.

"Johnny…"

His plan had already failed. He locked his gaze on her sparkling eyes and he realized that what he thought would be difficult would be damned near impossible. She was wearing a pinstriped pantsuit and her hair was tightly pulled back into a neat bun. In all of the years he had known Lulu Spencer, this was a brand new look.

"You okay?"

He shook the dumbfounded look from his face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where's Brayden?"

"Lucky's," she answered, shifting her weight from side to side. She was feeling just as uncomfortable as he was. "Probably staring at the sky, trying to find our airplane."

"How'd he do with the flight?" Brayden's first flight - another first that Johnny missed.

"Okay. I think his ears were bothering him, but the flight attendant had candy, so it wasn't a nuclear breakdown or anything," she explained, watching around them for any sign of potential eavesdroppers.

He chuckled. "When in doubt, find some sugar, huh?"

"Commandment number one of parenting," she grinned.

"So what's with the suit?" he asked, wondering whether or not she would shut down like she usually did when the topic of conversation went to anything about her. Brayden was their common ground. Anytime he went deeper, she threw a wall up.

"Oh, uh… I was just shadowing Robin at GH," she replied softly. "I still haven't gotten any job interviews, so Maxie set up some time for me to talk to Robin for advice. You know, chief of staff tips or something like that."

Johnny hated that Lulu would not accept any financial help from him. Brayden was always well cared for, but it took his mother practically working herself to the bone to provide for him. She would not admit it to him, but Ethan had mentioned the odd jobs she worked around campus just to make ends meet. Now that she had finished school, he was hopeful that a full-time income would make her life easier, but he never fathomed that she would have difficulty finding a job.

"Don't hate me, but I could…"

"Shut your mouth and mind your own business," Lulu finished his sentence firmly. "I'm fine. Look, I have to go relieve Lucky of babysitting duties before his shift starts tonight."

"Right," he nodded. "Do you think I could stop by the Metro Court later to say hi to Brayden?"

"Actually, we're staying at Lucky's," she admitted softly. "I'm sorry, he insisted."

"No, that's… that's good," he nodded, poorly covering his disappointment. "B needs to get to know family."

"I'll have him call you before bedtime," she vowed.

"Of course," he forced himself to smile. It was a nightly ritual for him to sing to Brayden before he went to sleep. He watched Lulu turn and walk away, and his mind went back to that day two years ago.

"_I still care about you."_

"_You should have thought of that before you decided to screw my best friend. Do yourself a favor, Johnny, and stop trying to find some connection between us. We're done – and nothing is going to change that."_

(Lucky's House)

The sound of organ music and cheering greeted Lulu when she opened the door to her brother's home. The television was blaring with a baseball game on, but nobody was in sight.

"Lucky?" she called.

Instead of her brother answering her, she heard Brayden giggling in the kitchen. She started removing her jacket as she followed the laughter through the living room. She turned the corner and found Brayden happily rolling a rubber ball along the floor, crawling after it every time it left his side.

"Hi baby," she grinned, kneeling down and kissing the top of his head. She looked past Brayden to find a man crouched under the table.

"What did he lose?" 

"Ah, you know, just a baseball that I caught at a Yankees/Mets game when I was twelve," an unfamiliar voice answered.

"You're not Lucky," Lulu observed out loud.

"Neither are you," the man remarked, coming out from under the table and standing to face her.

"Let me try this a different way," she grinned, "Who are you and where is my brother?"

"How about one question at a time here, huh? I'm a little distraught about the baseball."

Lulu rolled her eyes, scooping Brayden up in her arms and following him out of the kitchen into the living room where he turned down the volume on the television. "Okay, let's start with this one... who are you?"

"Dante Falconeri," he announced, reaching his hand forward to shake hers. "And you must be Lulu."

She nodded and obliged his request for a handshake. She took a look into his chocolate brown eyes and felt her cheeks turn a little pink. Lucky had told her about his coworker and roommate, but she never imagined that he would have been so attractive.

"Um.. so why exactly did Lucky leave you with babysitting duty?"

"Aside from the fact that this child is in desperate need of guidance regarding his choice of baseball teams," he explained, lifting up the tiny Red Sox glove that had been packed with Brayden's toys for the trip, "Your brother got called in to the station for an emergency about an hour ago. But don't worry, I am first aid and safety trained, and I have a ton of little cousins, so your son was in good hands."

"No, I mean... I didn't mean to offend you by asking," Lulu stammered, having a difficult time connecting her thoughts. "Aren't you supposed to be out of town all week for Thanksgiving?"

"You really don't like me, do you?" he fired back, a chuckle escaping his throat. Lulu tried to determine whether he was flirting with her or if it had been so long that she could not distinguish kindness from flirtation anymore. "Family plans changed, so my mother and I are staying around here."

"I didn't mean to suggest that I don't want you here. I just don't want to impose."

"A pretty girl like you staying under our roof for a week?" he grinned, giving her an answer to the flirtation question. "Not an imposition."

"I was referring to this little guy," she clarified, giving in to Brayden's wining and setting him down on the ground.

"Nah, aside from his poor taste in baseball teams, Brayden and I are good."

"What's your issue with the Red Sox?" she asked, oblivious to the Yankees jersey on his chest.

"Seriously? Do you even need to ask me that?" he gestured to his torso. "There are so many issues, I don't even know where to start. Brayden, dude you need to listen carefully to everything I teach you and pass it on to your mother."

"I don't really like baseball," she informed him.

"So where did the kid get this poor excuse for baseball memorabilia?"

"The babysitter. We do live in Boston, so it is not improbable that we know some Sox fans."

"Don't worry, B. We'll get you a better glove," he replied, but his attention was no longer on Lulu. He took a seat on the floor next to Lulu's son and started playing with him as if she was not there at all.

"You know, you are officially relieved of babysitting duty," she spoke up. "And I realize that I owe you for stepping in like you did, so if you let me know what your favorite meal is, I can certainly order it in for you whenever you'd like as a repayment."

"Nah," he shook his head, still not looking at her. "I had fun. Besides, hanging out with this guy got me out of going to the market, which is by far one of my least favorite pastimes. That reminds me… Lucky never gave me an answer on whether or not you will be joining us here for Thanksgiving dinner."

"Oh, well…"

Lulu had been planning to fly back to Boston the day before Thanksgiving so that she could extend an invitation to Johnny to join them for dinner. She needed to repay him for the meal he treated them to after her last final, and she felt guilty that Brayden would never be able to spend his first holidays with his father. But Epiphany had offered her that job at General Hospital, and she had until Thanksgiving night to make her final decision. In that time, she would need to serve as Maxie's maid of honor, send her and Matt off on a Caribbean honeymoon, make time to bring Brayden on the rounds around Port Charles for visits and, most importantly, determine whether or not she was crazy to think that it was safe enough for them to move back permanently. Leaving only four days after the wedding would make that time frame a little tight.

"I don't want to intrude," she finished her answer just as the front door swung open and a beautiful brunette walked in with her arms full of grocery bags. Lulu watched Dante spring to attention and relieve the woman of her heavy load. She figured that this must be his girlfriend, because no man in her life would be so quick to assist unless there was something there.

"Geez… did you buy out the whole market?" he laughed, taking the last bag from the visitor and kissing her cheek.

"Not yet, but I've still got 5 days left to get more," she answered, turning around to close the door behind her and removing her coat in one quick swoop.

Lulu felt guilty about her presence, so she quietly went about picking up her son's toys to make a quick exit. She did not get very far before Dante's guest approached Brayden and picked him up.

"Well, look at you, little cutie. I bet you get a lot of women with those adorable little dimples."

_Introduce yourself_. Lulu knew that her interaction with Dante had been harmless, but as a woman who had been cheated on, she also knew that this woman had every right to be upset about her boyfriend bonding with Brayden and flirting with her.

"Hi!" the brunette greeted, beating Lulu to the punch. "I'm Olivia. And you must be Lucky's sister."

"That's me," Lulu nodded, dropping the toy truck in her hands as she stood up to shake Olivia's hand. She could feel her palms starting to dampen as her nerves got more and more on edge. "And this is my son, Brayden."

"You know, when Dante told me he was babysitting, I thought he was crazy. But considering how adorable this kid is, not to mention how attractive his mother is, I see why he would take up childcare as a hobby."

"Oh, no…" Lulu defended Dante, "It's not like that. I mean, yes, Brayden is adorable, but maybe I'm just biased. But I didn't meet Dante until just no- Lucky asked him to step in with my son at the last minute. You know what – I think we are just going to get a hotel for the rest of our stay."

As the words flew out of her mouth, Lulu knew she sounded completely insane. Olivia laughed and took a seat on the couch, kissing Brayden's forehead as she made him comfortable on her lap.

"Don't worry, he's not in trouble," Olivia explained. "I have been stood up at the market for far less than this. Sit down, honey. I'd love to get to know more about you than what your brother has mentioned."

Lulu wiped her palms on the material of her pants as she slid onto the couch. "Ok."

"For starters, I understand you're a single parent."

"Yes, but believe me, I don't date. I mean, I haven't since I got pregnant. So you don't have to worry – I have no interest in Dante."

"You just keep slinging compliments my way, don't you?" Dante responded, coming back into the living room. Lulu realized that nothing she could say would help the situation at this point. Every statement she made was digging her deeper and deeper.

"No, you're perfectly nice and you're good with my son. But I wouldn't ever date anybody who was already involved…"

"Oh, God, you think – " Dante questioned, laughing hysterically before he finished his statement. Lulu looked between him and Olivia waiting to be let in on the joke.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry," Olivia giggled. "I didn't introduce myself completely. I'm Olivia _Falconeri_, Dante's mother."

"Mother?" Lulu repeated quietly. Olivia barely looked old enough to have a son half Dante's age. "Seriously?"

"Of course," Olivia continued as Dante was practically rolling on the floor laughing.

"But you…" Lulu stammered.

"Had a baby when I was still a kid myself. And I raised him on my own, which is why I was so excited to talk to you. From everything your brother says, you are a terrific parent, and you have done it by yourself the whole way through."

Lulu's guilt about flirting with Dante subsided just as Olivia's comment hit her ears. The guilt that she had lived with for the past year returned. Every time someone complimented her on raising Brayden on her own, she could not help but feel terrible that Johnny received no credit whatsoever for being the great father that he was.

(Johnny's loft)

Johnny stared at the clock above his fireplace, willing the phone to ring. Brayden's bedtime had come and gone, and he had not gotten a phone call like Lulu promised. He realized that there were staying in a new place and that his son was probably off schedule because of the trip. But it was 11:45 p.m. Lulu would never allow him to stay up that late.

He picked up the phone and started to text Lulu.

_Did you forget to call me?_

Realizing that sounded harsh, he erased his message and started fresh.

_You up?_

"This should not be so complicated," he groaned to himself, putting the phone in his pocket as he stood to pour another drink. Brooding was always easier with a bloodstream full of alcohol.

He finished another drink as there was a knock at the door. The only visitor he got this late at night was Ethan, usually looking for an investor to go in on some heavy betting with. He was not in the mood to deal with his friend's antics tonight. In fact, he was not in the mood to deal with anyone.

"Go away!" he called to the door when the knocking reoccurred. "Nobody's home!"

"Johnny, it's me…" Lulu's quiet voice called from the other side of the door. His stomach twisted into a knot when he identified the visitor. He should have been angry with her. He could have easily sent her away for betraying his nightly time to talk to his son. But instead, all he felt was relieved to hear that she was alright.

He opened the door and looked her up and down. She was wearing yoga pants and a form-fitting tank top that made him extend the length of his gaze a little longer.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this," she explained, looking around the hallway as if she was worried she would be spotted. "I was on a run and I just… can I come in so that we can talk?"

"Yeah, sure," Johnny nodded, stepping aside to let her in. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Water?" she requested. He brushed past her to pull a bottle of water off of the mini bar and gave it to her as she took a seat on his couch. She paused for a moment when she noticed he was shirtless.

"Oh my God, I never even thought… do you have someone here?"

"No," he answered quickly. "What's going on, Lulu? Is Brayden ok?"

"He's great," she reassured, taking a quick swig of the water. He could tell that whatever she wanted to talk about was serious, because her hands were trembling. She looked him square in the eyes before she began speaking; she hadn't been staring at him that closely since she had been screaming at him two years earlier.

"Exactly how incarcerated is your father?"

"My father?" Johnny repeated, feeling disappointed that the subject of this intimate conversation turned into Anthony. "Why? Has he tried to contact you?"

"No, nothing like that," she shook her head.

"_Good, because if he did, I would kill him myself,"_ Johnny thought to himself.

"I'll just get to the point," Lulu continued, placing the bottle of water on the coffee table and turning her body toward him before she resumed speaking. "Maxie set up a job interview for me at General Hospital. She sent in my resume and did everything behind my back. Then I get this call from Epiphany saying that they want to interview me today. I was curious, so I went. Well, as it turns out, they want to hire me full time."

"General Hospital? As in, you moving back to Port Charles?" he questioned, cursing himself for the liquor he had already consumed. Had he been completely sober, he would have been able to clarify his emotions better.

Lulu nodded. "Look, if I had offers coming in from a hospital in Boston or anywhere else for that matter, I would not even be considering this. But GH is an amazing hospital, and it would be a great opportunity. And I want Brayden to know his family except…"

"You don't know if we can live in the same town," he finished her sentence.

"At least not this one."

"So what exactly are you asking me here, Lulu?" he pushed. "Because it seems to me that this decision is yours to make. I don't really get a say."

"Of course you get a say," she argued, "You're Brayden's father."

"If you move back here, are we going to openly admit that Brayden is my son?"

Her eyes traveled down to her feet, giving Johnny the answer he anticipated, yet hated all at the same time. "That's what I thought."

"Johnny…"

"Don't worry about it," he shook his head, standing up and heading to the door. "This is all just a lot to think about, so why don't we sleep on it and we'll talk about it after Maxie's wedding."

When he opened the door to usher her out, he could not help but notice moisture building up in the corners of her eyes. He had to get her out before she cried. "Goodnight, Lulu."

She stood up and left, but not before she stopped right in front of him and, once again, stared him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lulu sat in the darkness of the kitchen where she had spent so many Thanksgivings as a child, staring at the bags filled with groceries for the meal that would be prepared the next day. She could hear her grandmother explaining the perfect method to making green bean casserole as if she were in the room with her now. Even though her parents and brothers were rarely gathered together for the holiday, she had fond memories of Leslie always being there for her.

She nursed a beer as she considered her son. It was not officially his first Thanksgiving, but he was only a few months old for that milestone. This year would be the first time he could eat any of the food and watch the parade on television with excitement. And while she was not sure he would remember this holiday, she wanted to give him an incredible day just in case. Unfortunately, a major element of that perfect day was completely impossible to provide.

"Lulu? I thought you went to bed hours ago."

She turned around and offered her brother a small smile when he turned the light on.

"I can't sleep," she admitted. "And staring at the ceiling was getting boring. How about you?"

"Same," he replied, pulling a soda out of the refrigerator and bringing it to the table to join her. "Cameron called before he went to bed, and he just kept going on and on about Thanksgiving and how his aunt Sarah was helping them make homemade ice cream. It just made me wish that I could be there to watch the boys. I'm sure they are going to make a huge mess."

"It has to be hard to spend the holidays away from them," she sighed, turning her attention back to what was really bothering her. Johnny had disappeared after she visited him the night before Maxie's wedding to ask about moving to Port Charles. He had not answered any of her phone calls, and nobody had seen or heard from him in days. She had to give her final decision to General Hospital that night, and she did not want to make it without Johnny's input.

"It is. But it helps to have you and Brayden here," he smiled. "It's an unexpected, yet great addition to my Thanksgiving. You still haven't told me what made you change your mind about staying."

"It's not like I have much to get back to. None of the hospitals in Boston seem to be anxious to have me there. Brayden needs to have more family in his life, and his family is here."

"Some of whom better make sure they stay away if they know what's good for them," Lucky groaned.

She rolled her eyes and finished off her beer in one big sip. "Seriously? Can we go one whole day without having the Johnny argument?"

"That depends. If you can tell me that you haven't seen or heard from Johnny at all, I'll drop it."

"You have nothing to worry about. Johnny is staying far away from us, and I have a feeling that nothing is going to change that."

(Jake's)

Johnny added another shot glass to the growing tower in front of him. He stared at the clock on the wall behind the bar. He had twenty minutes left to get as inebriated as he could before he had to make a decision about where to spend that night, and if it should be alone. His most recent bedmate was unable to join him for a third night of drunken distraction. The thought of trying to find someone else, yet another woman who was no replacement for the one he really wanted to share his evening with, made him sicker than the libations he was enjoying.

"Ah, the one and only John Zacchara…"

Ethan took a seat next to him at the bar, leaving Johnny regretting the choice to show up at Jake's. Being held up in the Metro Court with his cell phone turned off for days had made him untraceable. Now, because of his refusal to stay hidden, Lulu would inevitably find out that he was still in town. As much as Ethan was Johnny's friend, he was always going to be Lulu's brother. There was no mistaking where his loyalties rested.

"I'm not in the mood for this," he sighed, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and throwing money on the bar to cover his bill.

"What's with the sulking?" Ethan questioned, picking up Johnny's cash and playing with it in his fingers. "I've never known you to be the brooding type."

"Don't worry about me. In fact, pretend you never saw me here tonight. I'll be on my way out."

"Wow," Ethan chuckled. "I must hand it to my sister. She's got you all worked up without even seeing you."

"I did see her," Johnny frowned, frustrated with himself for what he was about to disclose. "The night before Maxie's wedding, she came to my place."

"Well, that would certainly explain why she keeps questioning me on your whereabouts. You know, I'm happy for you, but you really should have taken care of that in Boston. Reuniting right under Lucky's nose could prove disastrous for you."

"No, there was no reuniting. Lulu wanted to talk about her job offer, not that anything I could tell her would make a difference."

"Job offer?" Ethan questioned, obviously unaware of this latest development.

"Maxie set up an interview for her at General Hospital, and they offered her the job. She wanted my input in the decision."

"Because if she and Brayden move back here, it complicates things," Ethan finished his statement. "What did you tell her?"

"What could I say? It's her decision, and she needs the work. Who am I to say that she can't because I'd rather keep my relationship with my s-" he quieted his voice, realizing that there were still a few stragglers in the bar. "Brayden."

"I don't understand how them living here is any different than what you two are doing now with custody," Ethan argued, extending Johnny a courtesy by matching his volume.

"Seriously? You don't see how it would be different? Even if we could figure out a way to sneak around so that I can see him, Brayden's already talking. He knows who I am, and he calls me dad."

"He babbles," Ethan corrected, "And I sincerely doubt the kid says 'dad.' I have spent a lot of time with him this week, and have heard the entire 14 words in his limited vocabulary."

"Watch it, that's my kid," Johnny growled, taking one last shot for the evening. "And he does… I mean, it's more like 'da' but I know what it means, and so does he."

"The point it, nobody else does. Now that I think of it, he was saying that at Maxie's wedding, and everybody just assumed he was trying to say Dante."

"Dante?" Johnny questioned, turning his body to face the other man. "As in that cop that turned out to be Sonny's kid? Why the hell would Brayden be saying Dante?"

"They were playing with some trucks at the reception. It's not a big deal. Dante lives with Lucky, so he's obviously spent a little time around Brayden this week."

The thought of his son bonding with another man, calling him by the same name that had warmed his heart everytime he heard it made Johnny radiate with anger. He understood that staying away from Brayden and Lulu in public would keep them safe from his family and the business, but he had nevber fathomed not being the only man in his son's life.

"It seems to me that you just have to show Lulu that you can coexist in this town without exposing your secret to the wrong people. Look, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Lucky is hosting a dinner at his house. Why don't you come with me? Lulu will be there."

Had Ethan not mentioned Brayden spending time with Dante, Johnny would have refused the invitation in an instant. But at that moment, all he could think about was Lulu getting involved with another guy and his son bonding with that man more than he could with him. He had to see the situation for himself.

"You're right. I think it would do us all a lot of good. I'll be there."

(Lucky's House, the next afternoon)

"What do you think, B? Do you like it here?" Lulu asked her son while she struggled to get him dressed in the Thanksgiving outfit that Maxie had left for him before she went on her honeymoon. She only had four hours left until Epiphany's deadline on the job offer. Without any word from Johnny, she had to make the decision by herself. She had not told anybody else about the possibility of her moving back to Port Charles, so confiding in her son was a relief.

"If we lived here, we could get our own house, probably even one with a yard. Maybe we can buy you a swing set or a slide. And you could play with your cousins all the time. I know that there are a lot of people who would like to see you more…"

"More?" Brayden questioned, reaching his hands up to play with the curls in her hair. She pulled a little sweater vest over his head and lifted him on to her lap.

"Yeah, more," she smiled, tipping her head down to allow him better access to his hair. "All I want to do is keep you safe, little man. But I also want you grow up with your dad in your life. And I know that it's never going to be easy, no matter where we are living. Eventually, people are going to realize who you are to one another."

Brayden looked more like Johnny every day. But the resemblance was going beyond appearance. Brayden possessed his father's mannerisms. When something was difficult for him, he got really contemplative. He would just sit with his thoughts until he finally found a solution. Granted, his biggest problem was typically where the square block didn't fit in the round hole in his toy box. Even so, Lulu recognized her son's quiet determination as an inherited trait from his father.

"I wish he would just answer my phone calls," she groaned. "This would be so much easier if I knew that he was open to changing our arrangement."

"Lulu!" Lucky called from downstairs. "The game is starting! You promised!"

She rolled her eyes and kissed her son's cheek. "I must be really homesick, because even Uncle Lucky's whining isn't bothering me."

She carried Brayden down the stairs, grabbing one of his trucks on the way. She had limited culinary abilities, but had promised Lucky that she would take over assisting Olivia in the kitchen when the first football game began. Of course, that was under the condition that he would give her son equal attention to the television screen.

"Where's Ethan?" she questioned as she set Brayden on the floor in front of the couch. "I thought he was coming over for the game."

"He called and said he was bringing someone over. I guess they got a little sidetracked," Lucky answered, turning the volume up on the television as he took a seat next to Dante on the couch and opened a soda.

"Ethan – as in our brother, Ethan – is bringing a date to Thanksgiving dinner? Wow… I never thought I would see the day," she laughed, heading into the kitchen to help out with dinner.

She spent the first quarter of the football game sipping wine, preparing the stuffing and chatting with Olivia. In the week that she had been back in town, she had enjoyed getting to know Dante's mother. She was the quintessential Italian mother, and she understood what it was like to raise a son alone. Lulu had heard that Dante's father was Sonny, but that Olivia never told him about his son. She didn't want to ask too many questions about that part of the story, but it was enlightening to have someone around who may eventually be able to shed some light on her own situation.

"Honey, can you start setting the table?" Olivia asked, handing Lulu a pile of china that was obviously her own. There was no way Lucky owned anything that fancy.

"Sure," Lulu agreed, taking the plates in her arms and heading out into the dining room. She felt a smile spread across her lips when she found Brayden perched on the couch between Dante and Lucky, crawling back and forth between their laps to give them high fives. She started taking plates off of the pile one by one and placing them on the table.

"Happy Turkey Day to all!" Ethan's voice followed the opening of the front door. Lucky's was not too far behind.

"Uh oh, no way. This is not happening, Ethan!"

Lulu looked up from the table and met Johnny's eyes just past her brother. Without realizing what was happening, she dropped the last two plates in her hands, causing them to shatter across the floor.

"Oh no," she gasped, getting down on her hands and knees to pick up the glass pieces. There was no reason for Johnny to be in her brother's home for Thanksgiving, especially after he had spent the week avoiding her. She heard the kitchen door swing open and looked over, catching a glimpse of Olivia's peep-toe shoes. "I am _so_ sorry, Olivia. I am just a terrible klutz."

"This was a bad idea," Johnny muttered to Ethan, unable to remove his eyes from Brayden who was settled comfortably in Dante Falconeri's lap. Ethan shrugged off his friend's comment and continued into the house.

"Those are just plates," Olivia lectured Lulu, "What I think is more important here is for someone to explain why I hear screaming voices on a holiday."

"There won't be any more yelling as soon as this low life gets out of my home," Lucky replied.

"He's my guest," Ethan argued. "And you're not being very hospitable, brother."

"And you are? Did you not even consider what bringing him here was going to do to our sister?"

"Gentlemen," Dante stood up from the couch, setting Brayden down and placing himself between Lucky and Johnny. "There is a child in the room, so can we keep our voices down?"

Johnny rolled his eyes, a motion that did not go unnoticed by Lulu.

"Everybody can relax," she announced, "Johnny and I used to date, but that was a really long time ago. Practically ancient history… so if all of this tension is for my benefit, stop it. We are all adults, and he can stay."

"It's my home," Lucky argued, "And I say he lea-"

"Da!" Brayden shrieked, interrupting their confrontation. Lulu's heart caught in her throat when she realized her son was standing on the couch, staring straight at his father. "Ball!"

Every bone in Johnny's body wanted to lift his son up in his arms and kiss him for learning to say a new word. Yet he had to prove to Lulu that he was willing to make their situation work on her terms.

"And who is this?" he asked, gesturing to Brayden.

"My son," Lulu answered quickly, moving to lift the baby into her arms. She appreciated Johnny's covering for the boy, but was unsure that it was going to work much longer. "His name is Brayden."

"He's got your smile," Johnny added. "Look, I don't want to cause any chaos for your holiday. I'm just going to be leaving…"

"Don't be silly," Olivia interjected. "It's Thanksgiving. This is as good a day as any for people to mend fences and share a meal. Everybody stays and gets along on my orders, got it?"

_(Two Hours Later)_

Dinner had been disastrous, leaving all parties involved emotionally exhausted. Lucky used every opportunity he got to hurl insults at Johnny and his line of work. Olivia interrogated everybody at the table about their entire history, specifically honing in on Johnny and Lulu's history together. Dante did his best to reign in his mother, but Ethan, who found the entire ordeal hilarious, kept encouraging her. Brayden was as adorable as ever, but his babbling kept Lulu on edge, so much so that the three glasses of wine she drank did nothing to calm her nerves.

Johnny was desperate for an opportunity to pull Lulu away from everybody else. He had to tell her that they could make things work with Brayden no matter where she was living. At the moment, Ethan and Lucky were helping Olivia with the dishes. Lulu had taken their son upstairs twenty minutes ago to get him ready for bed, leaving Dante and Johnny alone in the living room.

"So, I'm guessing the Zacchara family Thanksgiving is pretty dismal, huh?" Dante commented, grabbing the remote and turning the television on.

"You don't have to make small talk," Johnny groaned, looking up the staircase. He knew that it only took a few minutes to change Brayden's clothes. Lulu was obviously avoiding him.

"Small talk? Hell, after the round of twenty questions with my mother, I don't know that there is anything I don't know about you. Well, I take that back. I guess the one thing I don't know is why you would want to spend a holiday with your ex-girlfriend and her brother – the cop - who happens to hate you."

"Has anybody seen a yellow blanket lying around here?" Lulu called as she came down the stairs empty handed. Brayden's sobs could be heard from upstairs. "He won't go to sleep without it."

"I think my ma grabbed it with the laundry earlier," Dante answered, "I'll go take a look."

Johnny took the opportunity that presented itself quickly once Dante exited the room, closing the distance between the two of them and speaking in hushed tones. "Look, I didn't mean to put you on the spot here tonight."

"No, of course you didn't, Johnny. I mean, you showed up at my brother's house for Thanksgiving after disappearing into thin air when all I wanted to do was talk. How could that possibly put me on the spot?" Lulu spat, pacing the room and gathering her son's toys in her arms.

"You have every right to be upset…"

"Thank you for your permission," she continued sarcastically. "I'll be sure to give you a call the next time that I have feelings to be sure that you approve."

He followed her around the room, worried that if she paced too far away, he would lose the chance to find out what she was going to do. "We should talk. Can you come over later? After Brayden is down for the night?"

"We have nothing left to talk about," she spun around, staring him straight in the eyes.

"What about the job at General Hospital?"

"None of your business," she insisted.

"Lu-"

"Leave, Johnny."

He could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He had not seen her get vulnerable like that since their son was born. The fact of the matter was that he would have rather pulled her into his arms and let her break down than what he was about to do.

"You know where I'll be if you need anything," he murmured before turning around and leaving the house. Once he was outside, he exhaled, watching the cool night air escape from his mouth. He had let her down, which was ironic considering that she was constantly reminding him that she didn't need anything from him. But all it took was disappearing for a few days. Now he had put his entire relationship with his child in jeopardy.

Inside of the house, Lulu collapsed on the couch, putting her head in her hands. She had to suppress the tears that were scratching the surface. She vowed a long time ago never to let John Zacchara make her cry again. Besides, crying was not going to help what she was about to do.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Taking a deep breath, she dialed the number that had been programmed into the memory days before.

"Epiphany... it's Lulu Spencer. I, uh, well, I have made a decision about the job. How soon can I start?"


	4. Chapter 3

_**Thank you all for your reviews. I am so glad that this story is being well-received. And for those of you who are also following "Lineage", please know that I am working on the latest update. I had a computer crash and lost what I had already written for that story. It's been harder for me to get back what I was so happy with... but I am getting closer.**_

**_I hope you like this installment. As always, please Read and Review!_**

**CHAPTER THREE**

The first snowfall of the year in Port Charles always brought a certain sense of excitement. Children would lie in their front yards just waiting for enough of the fluffy white substance to gather for the successful creation of snowmen or, at the very least, a snow angel. Store owners would have bags of salt and shovels ready so that eager residents could stock up for the upcoming winter. Young couples in love would watch the sky with wonder, almost as if they were placing a wish for a blessed new year.

Johnny stared out his balcony remembering that feeling. He had experienced that feeling on the last New Year's Eve that they had shared together. Little had he known at that moment that they would get to this place. Two weeks had passed since Thanksgiving, and Lulu had not responded to any of his attempts to contact her. Under any other circumstance, he would push harder to see his son. That was exactly how he was able to gain access to Brayden in the beginning. But even back then, when he pushed hard enough to get Lulu upset, he backed down.

_The rain had been pouring down for hours as he sat in the car, just staring at the third floor corner apartment window. He was so fixated on it that it shocked him when he realized he had been sitting in that exact same spot for three and a half hours._

_He had sped to Boston from Port Charles without any forethought. But once he was in front of her building, he was paralyzed with fear for some unknown reason. The worst she could do was turn him away, and she had already been doing that for months. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain._

_The storm had knocked out the power to the building, so the elevator was not an option when he entered the building. He climbed the five flights of stairs slowly, talking himself into what he was about to do. Fear had never been an emotional option for Johnny, but in that moment, it was the only option._

_Thunder crashes echoed throughout the hallway as he reached her door. He ran his fingers through his hair, which was now dripping wet from a combination of rain and sweat. Realizing that there was no turning back now, he lifted his hand and knocked on the door._

"_Just a second!" her voice called from the other side of the door. She sounded happy. He finally let himself exhale, hopeful that they could have a civilized conversation. That hope disappeared when the door opened and her calm demeanor quickly turned to shock._

"_Hi," he greeted softly. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words escaped her pink lips. He reached up to stop the door from closing when she tried to close it in his face. "Don't do that… I am just here to talk."_

_Her eyes darted down to the floor when she realized that he was not going to leave this time. He followed her gaze, stopping at her protruding stomach – the only confirmation he needed to know that the rumors spreading around their hometown were true. Calculations swarmed through his head as he flashed back to their passionate bouts of lovemaking, their breakup and the timeline that contained all of it._

"_We have nothing to talk about," she murmured._

"_Liar," he called her out softly, causing her to return her gaze to his eyes. The darkness in them was unlike anything he had ever seen in her. His mind was telling him to retreat, but his heart was not going to allow it._

"_Lulu, can I come in?"_

_She must have realized that he had no intention of leaving, because she stepped aside and allowed him access to her small apartment. The small room was comprised of a kitchen, small living area and a bed in the corner. Candles illuminated the room that had been darkened by the lack of electricity. Under other circumstances, one might have found the moment romantic. But no romance existed between them anymore. Only hurt and anger resided in that room._

_She was the first to break the silence once the door closed behind him. "Who told you?"_

"_I overheard Maxie and Lucky talking about your… your-" using the word in front of her felt terrifying._

"_Pregnancy," she completed his sentence._

"_Right," he continued, turning around to face her as she leaned against the door for support. He noticed the size of her stomach in comparison to her small frame. Carrying a child must have been exhausting for her. "Last time we talked, you said that you weren't… so I had to come here and see for myself."_

"_Well, you have seen, so now you can go."_

_Her response was rehearsed, almost mechanical. He could sense from her body language that she was screaming inside, desperate to get out of this conversation. He forced himself to focus on the baby. Making Lulu angry was not his intention, but if it was a necessary step to gaining access to the child – his child – he would have to take it._

"_Why didn't you tell me?"_

"_We've been through this. You and I are not together anymore, so I don't have to tell you anything." Another rehearsed response, only this time, he had heard it before. _

"_For God's sake, Lulu, will you stop repeating that for five minutes and give me a straight answer?" he lost his composure, allowing his fear to subside and his frustration to take over. "I am not clueless! We broke up six months ago, and you are obviously further along than that. We both know why I am here, so will you just answer my damned question?"_

_Her hands traveled to her stomach, almost as if she were protecting the baby from the argument. The darkness in her eyes subsided for a brief second._

"_You hurt me," she whispered. "You hurt me more than I thought a person could ever hurt me. You took something good and shattered it into a million pieces. And when you did that… you lost any right you ever had to be a part of my life. I don't need you, Johnny."_

_He could feel bile in the back of his throat. It had been apparent to him for months that he had hurt Lulu, and that was hard enough to live with. But standing in front of her in that moment, seeing her carrying a child that he was positive was his, and claiming that she didn't need him made him hate himself._

"_I am not clueless either," Lulu continued, her volume increasing slightly. "I know that you are here because you want to know if this baby is yours, but I don't – "_

"_Isn't it?" he interrupted._

_Tears sprang into her eyes when she finally met his gaze. Instead of verbalizing her answer, she simply shook her head and mouthed, "I'm sorry."_

"_I don't buy it," he argued. "There is no way that you were with somebody else… I know that for a fact."_

"_You need to go now," she replied steadily, wiping the tears from her face. "And please don't come back here."_

To this day, he did not understand why he respected her request to leave without pushing harder to get Lulu to admit that the baby was his. But after what he had done, he could not blame her for shutting him out.

A knock at his front door pulled him from his thoughts. He crossed the penthouse and opened the door, surprised to see Maxie standing in front of him, her hands on her hips indicating that she was already in lecture mode.

"Where the hell do you get off?" she exclaimed, practically shoving him out of the way to gain access to his home. "Do you have any idea what you are doing to her this time?"

"Well hello to you, too, Maxie," he sighed, closing the front door and watching her pace around his couch. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"You know damned well why I am here," she spat. "Lulu is moving back home and starting a new job. She should love every second of it! But she doesn't love it. She has been moping around for weeks since Thanksgiving. And do you know why that is?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me," he sighed, pouring himself a drink and slamming it down quickly. He had learned that the best way to deal with Maxie's tirades was with a preemptive strike to the headache.

"Because you are a selfish asshole!" she answered.

"That's right," he replied sarcastically. "I forgot that part of my title. I am so glad to have you around to continually remind me."

"What the hell were you thinking showing up to Thanksgiving at Lucky's house like that? Do you realize that she was going to give you a lot more credit than anybody wanted her to and let you work out some sort of custody agreement with Brayden? She actually thought that you could be a civilized adult for once – which, if you ask me, was a stupid thought. But regardless of what me or Lucky or anybody else tells her, she is always going to give you the benefit of the doubt and let you see her child."

"_Our _child," he corrected.

"Whatever," she shook her head. "Look, I hate myself for being here right now, because I should be over at Lulu's new place giving her a laundry list of reasons why things are better off if she keeps Brayden away from you. But if you two don't work something out, she is going to end up in Shadybrook again with some sort of anxiety disorder."

"You're being a little melodramatic, don't you think?" he inserted his question when she took a breath. "Lulu raised Brayden on her own for months before even telling me to my face that he is my son. She is more than capable."

"She is riddled with guilt because she thinks Brayden misses you," Maxie clarified. "Look, you don't have to understand it, but you do owe her at least a conversation."

"I have been trying!" he argued. "I have called and emailed and sent text messages… she is not answering any of them!"

"This is why she needs to be forced into talking to you. I am going to work it all out. I just need you to go along with it."

"I don't know, Maxie. The reason we aren't talking now is because I blindsided her on Thanksgiving. How exactly is doing it again going to help?"

"Trust me," she sighed, heading to the door. "It is going to work. Just come to my office at six. We will go from there."

Before Johnny had the chance to argue with her, Maxie was gone.

_(6:00 p.m., Metro Court Lobby)_

Lulu stared at her phone while she waited for the elevator. She had moved back to Port Charles the day before, but had not gotten any of her unpacking done. She was set to begin work the next morning and had several things left to do before then. So when Maxie had sent her an urgent text message summoning her to the Crimson offices, she was less than excited to oblige.

The elevator opened and she stepped inside, slipping her phone back into her purse. As the doors started to close, she heard someone yell for her to hold the elevator. Without a thought, she stuck her hand out to stop the closing doors. When Johnny slid between them, she cursed herself for trying to be considerate.

He must have been feeling her level of discomfort, because he did not say a word as the doors closed and they started to ascend. She knew that she should say something. After all, he had been trying to contact her for weeks now without avail. But she had no idea where to begin. Before she could come up with anything, the lights in the elevator flickered and she heard the humming sound that had accompanied their travel stop abruptly.

"What was that?" Johnny questioned, moving to the panel of buttons and pressing each one.

"I'm not sure," she answered, pulling out her cell phone to call the front desk. She held it above her head, but was unable to get any service. "I've got nothing."

"The emergency call button isn't working, either," he reported, repeatedly pressing it without any result.

"So we're stuck…" she verbalized what they were both thinking as the light finally flickered out, leaving them alone in the dark.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"How long has it been now?" Lulu questioned from her seat on the floor of the Metro Court elevator. After the first twenty minutes with only a small strand of lights across the floor illuminating their surroundings, they decided it best to turn her cell phone off to conserve battery just in case, deeming Johnny the official timekeeper for the duration of their entrapment.

"Only fourteen more minutes since the last time you asked," he replied with a smirk. "Do you have someone upstairs waiting for you or something?"

"Why do you ask?"

"No real reason, I guess. You just seem really anxious to get out of here. I thought you might be on your way to a date."

Just the thought of it made her chuckle. Yet, she could hear the twinge of jealousy in his question, and for some reason, she appreciated it. So instead of expanding upon an answer, she simply shook her head. "No date."

There was a brief pause in conversation before Johnny cleared his throat. "Look, Lulu, I owe you an apology for Thanksgiving."

"You have already apologized. I got your messages," she replied softly. "What I don't understand is why you thought showing up at Lucky's house on Thanksgiving was a good idea. Ethan told me that he talked you into it, but even so. I have never known you to go along with something you didn't agree with."

"You're right," he sighed. "It was a stupid decision. I missed Brayden, and Ethan shows up telling me all about how close he was getting with some other guy. I got jealous and wanted to check it out for myself."

"What other guy?"

"It doesn't even matter."

"Johnny, what other guy?" she repeated firmly.

"Dante," he admitted, choosing not to look directly at her while he explained. "But before you say anything, you should know that I have no right to tell you who you can and cannot get involved with. I knew that you would find someone eventually, but I forgot to realize that any guy you got close to would be close to Brayden, too."

"Well, you are right about now having any right to dictate who I get involved with," she sighed, "But you're wrong about Dante. He's Lucky's roommate. So, yes, Brayden spent some time with him when we were staying there, but there is nothing going on between us. Even if there was, it doesn't change the fact that you are Brayden's father."

"You and I know that I am his father. But Dante… he doesn't know that. Neither would any other guy that you are seeing. So to them, Brayden doesn't have a father in his life. I know it's selfish, but I have a hard time with that."

Her heart sank at his admission. What he was describing was what she had been struggling with since the night she decided to move back to Port Charles. She hated herself for getting into this predicament in the first place. She had watched Carly struggle raising children with a man involved in the business. So when she found out she was pregnant, she thought the only way to keep her child safe was to avoid the situation altogether. Although after she let Johnny into his life, she knew it was going to be more complicated.

"That's exactly why I wanted to talk to you about moving back here," she sighed. "To figure out how we can make this work."

"And I shut you out before we could even start discussing it. Again, I'm sorry for that."

"Stop," she shook her head. "I owe you the apology for that one. I approached that conversation terribly. Of course you want to be able to spend time with Brayden as his father. And it's unrealistic of me to think that we could continue to keep this huge secret in a town where everybody knows us."

"I'm not asking for us to announce it formally in the newspaper or something," he clarified. "I grew up with Anthony Zacchara as my father. I know exactly what dangers come along with that. And even though I'm out of that part of the business, I am not naïve enough to think that we're completely safe from one of the families that wants to send a message."

"I'm more concerned about your father than some unknown enemy," she admitted softly.

"Believe me, I understand. But you have to know that I will kill him before I let him anywhere near our son," he assured. "He's in jail right now, and he is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future."

Before Lulu could respond, the small telephone below the control panel on the elevator started ringing. Johnny crawled over from where he had been sitting and answered it.

"Hello… yes, there are two of us stuck in here… no, no injuries, but it's getting colder and we would like to be out of here sooner… what do you mean power failure? The whole hotel? Okay, yeah… just keep us posted."

He hung up the phone and gave her a look that she knew meant they were not going anywhere anytime soon.

"You've got to be kidding me," she groaned, pulling her knees up to her chest and holding them tightly. "How long?"

"At least an hour. Apparently it's a power failure across the hotel, and the backup generator is not functioning either."

_(Lulu's House)_

"No, Spinelli, you have to just give it a little more time," Maxie pleaded into her cell phone as she approached the front door to Lulu's home and pulled out the spare key her friend had entrusted her with.

"The original blonde one is bound to be concerned about the status of her progeny if her stay in the elevator is prolonged," Spinelli argued.

"Okay, true," Maxie admitted, opening the door and letting herself in to the house. She set down her bag on a pile of unpacked boxes before continuing. "But Brayden is here with Lucky, so everything is fine. Look, I have to go… just give it another half hour before you turn the generator on, ok? Pretty please?"

"Only for you, Maximista," Spinelli sighed.

"You're the best!" she exclaimed, hanging up the phone and setting it on the coffee table.

"Maxie? Is that you?" Lucky's voice called from upstairs. "Do you have any idea where my sister is?"

"She got tied up with something," she fibbed. "But don't worry – I am here to relieve you of Brayden duties so that you can get to work."

"Tied up with something?" he questioned suspiciously as he walked down the stairs with a laundry basket in his hands. "Can you be more specific?"

"I could, but I'm not going to," she grinned.

"She's with Johnny, isn't she?" he shook his head. "Damn it… I thought I had finally gotten through to her."

"None of us are ever going to get through to her when it comes to Johnny. He's Brayden's father, and no matter what we say or do, Lulu is always going to feel guilty about shutting him out of his life. I'm starting to think that it would be better if we just support her in figuring out how to handle the situation rather than ordering her to stay away from Johnny."

His disapproval at her statement became clear when he dropped the laundry basket in the middle of the floor and shook his head. "So you're okay with putting Lulu and Brayden's lives in danger by allowing them to become pawns in Zacchara's family? I don't get you, Maxie… you are the one the convinced Lulu to leave town back when she found out she was pregnant. You told her that she could do better than John Zacchara."

"And I still believe she can," she clarified. "Believe me, the last thing I want for Lulu is to see her fall for Johnny again. But she is not going to let herself find any kind of happiness if she is punishing herself for keeping Brayden and Johnny apart."

"So this is all about what then?" he pushed. "A custody arrangement?" 

"Exactly," she smiled. "And once that is figured out, I have the perfect guy in mind for her – one that is not involved with the mob in any way. He and Lulu are going to be so amazing together. And trust me, you will absolutely approve of him."

_(Metro Court Elevator, 45 minutes later)_

"I don't believe you," Lulu laughed, trying to catch her breath. "$50,000?"

"Why would I make this up?" Johnny argued, also struggling to breathe due to incessant laughing. "He's your brother."

"Did Ethan pay it?" she questioned, tears forming in her eyes.

"No, he insisted that he would be able to charm the pants off of any other woman in the place and use the $50,000 for other vices," he grinned, finally getting his laughter under control. After talking in circles about Brayden, they had spent ten minutes in complete silence, trying to come up with a solution. When none of that was working, he decided to change the topic, sharing embarrassing stories about Ethan with her to pass the time.

It was nice to share light conversation with her again. No matter what was going on in their worlds, they would always have a shared love of adventure to get them through any tense conversation. Johnny was relieved that she was comfortable enough with him after everything that they had been through to share stories and laughter in the dark.

The lighting in the elevator was incredibly dim, but he could see the glow on her face. "I've missed seeing you laugh like this…"

"I don't think I have in years," she admitted softly, resuming her composure. She wiped the tears from her eyes, unintentionally smearing mascara down her cheek in the process.

"Lu, you, uh… you've got something," he started, gesturing to his own cheek to help her locate the makeup. He watched intently as her fingers brushed across her cheek, just missing the mark.

"Did I get it?"

"No, let me help," he offered, scooting himself forward so that they were only inches apart. He brought his hands up to her face and gently swiped his thumb across her cheek. The all too familiar smell of lavender and freesia from her shampoo washed over him, sending goose bumps down his arms. He had dreamed of that scent, but the reality was so much better.

Against his better judgment, he moved his gaze from her cheek to her eyes. The sparkle in them was enough for him to keep his resolve. He moved forward slowly, pressing his lips against hers just like he had imagined doing so many times. He felt her lips quiver at first, but after a few brief seconds, she responded, pressing them tentatively against his. A small moan escaped from the back of her throat, giving him all of the permission he needed to press his tongue against her lips, requesting access to her mouth.

Just as she parted her lips and brought her fingers up to his hair, the elevator jolted, sending them backwards and causing Lulu's head to bounce off of the wall.

"Oh shit!" she winced, pressing the palm of her hand to the back of her head.

"Are you alright?" he sprung forward, examining the wound the best he could. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault," she assured, "Don't worry about it. It's just a bump on the head, and that never killed anybody."

"Lulu, I heard the impact… it could be serious," he pressed, brushing his fingers against her hand that was covering the affected area.

"It's fine!" she insisted, using her free hand to push herself up to standing. He knew she would never own up to it, but he saw her struggle to maintain her balance once she was upright. He stood, keeping a hand ready behind her in case she lost balance completely. "We're finally getting out of here."

"Right," he sighed, noting her behavior as a sign of regret from the kiss they just shared. The elevator kept descending until they heard the familiar ding signaling the opening of the doors. Two hotel employees stood ready to greet them once they emerged.

"Our most sincere apologies for your ordeal," a man in a tuxedo exclaimed as Lulu pulled her purse strap over her shoulder with the arm that was not busy holding her injury. "Please accept this complimentary stay in our presidential suite as a token of our regret for this freak power outage."

"It's not necessary," Lulu shook her head. "Accidents happen."

"Mr. Zacchara," the other gentleman started, obviously intimidated by Johnny's identity. "We insist."

"I'm going to go home," Lulu told him softly as she headed for the door. "Goodnight, Johnny."

"Lulu, wait…"

"Mr. Zacchara… the voucher?" the man questioned, waving it in front of his face.

"Fine, whatever," he groaned, yanking it out of the man's hands and rushing outside to catch Lulu as she waited for her car from the valet. Her eyes were glassy, which was either an indication of her shock from the kiss, the pain in the temple or, what was most likely, a combination of both.

"You shouldn't be driving," he told her. "Let me give you a ride to the hospital to get checked out."

"Johnny, I told you, I am fine," she groaned. "I need to get home to Brayden. Lucky is watching him, and he was supposed to be at work hours ago."

"At least let me drive you home," he begged. "I don't want you losing consciousness behind the wheel."

"I don't think that's a good idea," she explained. "Lucky will flip out."

"Okay, then, here," he pulled out a voucher for his car service and handed it to the doorman. "Take my car service home. I'll have them drop off your car first thing in the morning."

"Johnny…"

"I insist," he said firmly, locking her gaze for only a moment before she broke it.

"Thank you," she murmured.

"Anytime."

A black town car pulled up in front of them and the doorman opened the door for her. "Miss?"

"I... uh… I have to work tomorrow," she explained to Johnny. "Brayden is starting at the hospital day care. Maybe I can call you after we get home so that you can sing to him?" 

"Of course," he smiled, masking his sadness that she was not giving him an invitation to stop over and see them in person.

He watched her get into the car and waited until it pulled away before he started walking down the street. It was a long walk home in the snow, but after everything that had just happened; he figured he needed the time to think. In the course of a few hours in an elevator, he may have reignited the love that he had blown apart years before or found a way to alienate the mother of his child and destroyed any chance of being a permanent fixture in his son's life. Either way, he knew he had Maxie to thank for the opportunity.


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_What are your plans for Christmas? I would love to have you and B over for dinner if you're free…_

Lulu stared at the text message in front of her while she waited for the elevator doors to open. It had been a week and a half since she and Johnny had been trapped together in the elevator. They had spoken a few times since then, but only briefly, and the conversations were always about Brayden. The kiss that they shared had not come up, and as far as she was concerned, it was better that way.

It was not that the kiss was bad. In fact, had they not been jolted into coherence, Lulu was convinced that it would have led to something more right there on the elevator floor. But their situation was complicated enough without an added dimension of a romantic relationship. No, it was definitely better to pretend the kiss never happened and work together to parent Brayden as two single people.

_Lucky's house tomorrow for Christmas Eve and dinner at Maxie's on Christmas night after I am done working. Maybe I can drop Brayden off with you for Christmas morning?_

She sent her reply to him and shoved the phone in the pocket of her scrubs as the elevator opened and she was swept into the hospital Christmas party. The day care center would be closed the next two days for the holiday, so Santa was making his GH appearance for the children admitted to pediatrics and those in the day care center that afternoon. Epiphany was gracious enough to give Lulu a few minutes extra on her break so that she could see her son's reaction to Santa for the first time.

She bumped into someone accidentally as she scanned the room for Brayden.

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry. It's really crazy down here, isn't it?"

"It is every year," her former sister-in-law explained. "But it's a beautiful tradition. It means so much to the kids who have to be admitted over Christmas and their parents."

"I can't even imagine how hard it is for them," Lulu sighed. "I have yet to do my pediatric rotation, but I know it's going to be hard to look at these children and not see Brayden." 

"Speaking of Brayden, I had the pleasure of meeting him this morning when I dropped the boys off at day care. He is gorgeous, Lulu."

"Thanks," Lulu grinned. Compliments about her son always had a special effect on her. "He knows how to work his cuteness, too."

"It must be a Spencer thing. I think Lucky has taught all of our boys the same traits."

"I've noticed that," she laughed, watching behind Elizabeth as a handsome doctor approached and wrapped his arms around her waist. She recognized him from the hospital directory. He was a psychiatrist that worked out of the hospital part time.

"Hey beautiful," he smiled, kissing the top of Elizabeth's head. "Where are the kiddos?"

"On their way up from day care," she answered, sliding out of his grasp to make introductions. "Ewen, this is Lucky's sister, Lulu. She's the newest member of our nursing staff."

"It's nice to meet you," Lulu reached forward to shake Ewen's hand, ignoring the vibrations from her cell phone in her pocket.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied cordially.

"Don't let his charms fool you, Lulu," Matt joked as he approached them with his brother in tow. "Next thing you know, he'll be telling you that he's the most brilliant doctor on staff, and we all know that is not true."

"Always the model of maturity, Dr. Hunter," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, resuming her position in her boyfriend's arms.

"I try my best," Matt teased. "Where are the kids anyway? I have surgery in ten minutes, and I promised Maxie a picture of Emma sitting on Santa's lap."

"Why can't Patrick take a picture for her?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Oh, my photographic talents were deemed subpar at the wedding," Patrick explained.

"Oh, there's Cameron!" Elizabeth exclaimed, pulling Ewen away from the group to greet her son who had just arrived with his kindergarten class.

"Lulu, I'm glad I caught you," Matt continued, pulling a list out of his pocket and handing it to her. "I really need your help with Maxie's Christmas present. Am I on the right track at all with these?"

She scanned the list of designer items and elaborate vacation ideas quickly. If her best friend was anybody other than Maxie, she would have informed the man that he was on his own for gifts. But knowing the new Mrs. Jones-Hunter, she figured she could give the guy a hand.

"Skip the handbags," she instructed. "Go with a vacation and a piece of jewelry. Oh, and make sure you book everything at least six months in advance so she won't need to beg Kate for the time off."

"Why do you help him?" Patrick questioned. "He chose to get married. Shouldn't he have to figure out the gifts on his own now? Nobody ever held my hand."

"Let's just say that I am saving myself from hours of complaining about Matt if he gets the wrong present," she answered. "I would rather not spend my Christmas dinner witnessing a fight."

"Ah, so I am not the only poor sucker who has to spend the holiday with these two?" Patrick replied with a grin. Matt was about to refute his brother's comment when his pager went off.

"Crap… I have to go. Patrick, just get a ton of pictures of Emma and we'll tell Maxie I took one. See you guys later."

They watched him rush away and stood silently for a moment before Patrick broke the silence. "So, I hear that Brayden is the cute new guy at day care. Emma is always talking about how he is her little buddy."

"He is a little ladies man," she beamed. "I don't really know if I like that or not."

"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. In my experience, boys always put their mothers first before any other women," he assured. "At least that's how I was growing up."

Lulu noticed a group of children getting off of the elevator with the teachers from the day care. She smiled when she spotted Brayden holding Emma's hand as she carefully assisted him.

"Look at that - I guess they are buddies," she motioned to the scene so that Patrick could see it. She pulled out her cell phone to take a picture, noticing a new text message from Johnny.

_I would love that. Come a little bit before your shift. I have some gifts to give you guys, and I think we should talk._

She felt the color leave her cheeks as she reviewed the message. He bought her a Christmas present. Now only that, but he wanted to talk, most likely about the kiss they shared. Why couldn't he just pretend that it never happened like she did? Any conversation they would share would not end well.

"Lulu, is everything okay?" Patrick asked. "You look like you just got bad news."

"Fine," she shook her head, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for her astonishment. "I... uh… I just realized that I don't have any space left on my phone for new pictures. I'm always forgetting to empty them onto my computer."

"That is easily fixable," he offered, pulling out his phone and taking a picture of their kids, who were now anxiously waiting in line to see Santa Claus. "I'll just take pictures for both of us and get them to you." 

"That's very sweet," she replied, shoving her cell phone back in her pocket for the time being. Worrying about Johnny was not going to fix her dilemma. In the meantime, she had another first to experience with Brayden. She resolved not to let the drama with his father take away from the magic of Christmas with her son.

(Outside of Lulu's House, 2 hours later)

Johnny sat in his car, staring at his cell phone and willing it to notify him of an incoming text message from Lulu. He should have spent the afternoon working. Claudia was expecting a lot of paperwork from him before the holiday, but he was incredibly distracted thinking about Lulu and Brayden and what could become their family's first Christmas together.

Before their time in the elevator together, he would have never allowed himself to hope for more than friendship with Lulu. But when he felt her respond to his kiss, everything changed. There was still something between them, even if she was too stubborn to admit it. So when she didn't answer him via text message to set up a time to talk, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

All it took was one phone call to obtain Lulu's address. Once he had that information, he had to figure out when the best time to catch her would be. He called the hospital and was fortunate enough to catch a nurse other than Epiphany on the other end of the phone, one who believed that he was Lulu's brother and needed to know what time to pick her up from work.

"Any minute now," he sighed, staring out of his car window at the empty driveway. Lulu had gotten out of work over an hour ago. He knew that there were only so many more times he could examine the outside of her house before he lost his nerve.

He was impressed with the home she had rented. It was not too big, but it was in a great neighborhood and came with a huge yard. He envisioned building a swing set for Brayden in a few years that could go in the backyard under a tree house. His son would get all of the amenities that he was never afforded growing up.

He sighed in relief when headlights flashed in front of him and pulled into the driveway. He got out of his car and crossed the yard, greeting Lulu when she opened the door to her SUV. The look of surprise on her face told him everything he needed to know.

"Don't be mad," he started. "I am just here to talk."

"Now?" she questioned, stumbling over her words as she brushed past him and opened the back door to get Brayden out of the vehicle. "How did you… where were you… why?"

"For starters, you're pretty good at avoiding me when you want to. It's Christmas, and I don't want to spend the holidays pretending we don't know each other. We've done that enough over the past few months."

She emerged from the back seat with Brayden's head draped on her shoulder fast asleep. He could see her struggling to carry their son, his diaper bag and her purse. Without asking, he reached forward and grabbed the bags off of her shoulder before they fell in the snow, using his other hand to close the car door.

"It's not a great time," she whispered as she headed for the front door.

"See, I would have known that if you would have responded to my text message," he challenged, following her as she dug in her coat pocket for her keys.

"I have a _job_, Johnny. I am responsible for the well-being of dozens of patients. I can't just text all day."

"Bullsh-"

"Watch the language!" she cut him off, nodding towards their sleeping son.

"Sorry… I just think that you're excuse is a little farfetched," he corrected himself as he trailed her into the house and closed the door behind him. He set her things down on the couch while she crossed the room to lay Brayden in a playpen. "Things with us are still unresolved, Lulu, and you know it. All I'm asking for is a chance to talk about what happened."

"Not in here," she groaned, her shoulders sinking in defeat as she peeled her coat off and laid it on the couch. As if out of habit, she picked up the baby monitor and flipped it on, carrying it with her as she led him into the kitchen. Instead of taking a seat with him at the table, she went about her routine, searching through the cabinets for something.

"Have you eaten?" she questioned, refusing to look at him. "Because I think I have some pasta and a can of sauce somewhere around here."

"Are you inviting me to stay for dinner?"

"Not like a date," she clarified firmly. "I have not eaten all day, so if you insist on being here, I'm going to eat. You can either join me or watch."

"Sure… I could eat."

"Fine," she replied, going about preparation for the meal without as much as a glance towards him. He was puzzled by the lack of protest she was putting forward about his being there. Yet she was barely acknowledging him.

He realized he had two options. He could make small talk about Brayden and the Christmas presents he had purchased for him or he could go in with the big question on his mind. By this point, he was sick of the small talk with Lulu. He had to take a risk and hope it would pay off.

"I haven't stopped thinking about that kiss since it happened," he started, causing her to drop the spoon in her hand. He pressed on with his thoughts before he lost his nerve. "It was a really incredible kiss, and I think you felt it too. I know that things between us are complicated, Lu, but I think there's still a spark, you know?"

She stood frozen with her back to him, making him wish that he would have come out with his big confession once she was seated at the same table. At least then he could have seen her expression and had some indication of how she would react. When another minute went by without a word from her, he filled the silence.

"Look, I'm not suggesting we get married or anything drastic. I just… after all this time, I would still give anything to take back what happened with Maxie. And when we kissed in that elevator… I realized that everything I thought I had been feeling was real. We were amazing together. Maybe we can get some of that back."

"What about Brayden?" she finally spoke, her voice cracking. He noticed her wipe her eyes before turning to face him, an indication that his comments had touched her in some way.

"Don't you think Brayden could only benefit if there was a chance we could make it work between us?" he responded with his own question.

"I guess…" she started, finally catching his gaze so that he could see the confusion in her eyes. However, it only lasted a moment before she broke their eye contact. "No, no… this is crazy. We are Brayden's parents. That is how we are connected, and we can't blur the lines at this point. He is too young and impressionable, and what if we tried and it didn't work? We wouldn't just be hurting ourselves; we would be hurting our son. And all for what – great sex? That's irresponsible."

"Not just great sex," he argued, getting up out of his seat and moving closer to her. "We were in love."

"Past tense," she insisted. He could hear in her voice that tears were scratching the surface, but she was obviously trying hard to stay strong and get him out of her home before she let too much emotion show. "It's our past, not the present or the future. We are co-parenting now. And that's difficult enough. I would like for us to be friends again, that's it."

Johnny heard everything that she was saying. But more importantly, he saw the reaction he stirred up in her. She was emotional, but not angry that he was asking for more out of their relationship. That gave him all of the answers he needed. She still felt something for him, and even if she was too scared to act on it. He could work on relieving her fears. After all, there was no rush. A relationship with the mother of his son was worth the time and effort. He would find a way to win her back.

"I understand," he nodded, stepping closer to her and pulling her into a hug. "And I appreciate your honesty. I may not love it, but if all you can offer me is friendship, I would be a fool to pass that up."

He held her tightly in his arms and let himself linger for a brief moment before turning his head to kiss her cheek. He felt her shiver as he broke contact, another indication that she felt was he was feeling.

"I think I should probably take off. What time do you want to drop Brayden off on Christmas morning?"

"Um…" she started, regaining her thoughts. "6 a.m. I'll be back to pick him up at 2."

"Perfect," he smiled. "Thank you for that, by the way. I know you have a list of babysitters a mile long, but it means the world to me that I'll get to have Christmas morning with my son."

"Of course," she nodded, offering him a small smile before walking him to the front door. Without any more words, he walked out the door and to his car, plastering a huge smile on his face once he was out of Lulu's sight. He may not have gotten the answer he wanted tonight, but he would eventually. He resolved that by the next Christmas, he would have everything he wanted.


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Come on, B, say it one more time for Daddy while I have the camera on," Johnny urged. "You can do it. You just did… _train_."

Brayden simply ignored his father, giving all of his attention to the new train set in front of him. Johnny surveyed his bedroom, which was now covered in wrapping paper and toys. He had picked up a Christmas tree the night before, opting to set everything up in his room where nobody would question it. Not that he had company that often, but he always had to be prepared just in case.

By the time he had decorated the tree and wrapped the multitude of gifts that he had driven into the city to buy Brayden, he was too excited to sleep. He had spent his last Christmas alone in this same room, agonizing over whether or not to drive to Boston and watch his son from afar. He had never imagined that he would be sitting with Brayden on Christmas morning, watching him open gifts from Santa.

Brayden crawled under the tree and pulled out the only wrapped box left. Johnny struggled to set down the camcorder in his hands and reached forward to grab it from him before he tore off the paper, which was apparently his new favorite hobby. "No, kiddo… that's for your mom."

He looked down at the box in his hands and debated whether or not he should go through with giving it to Lulu. He had purchased it the night they had kissed in the elevator, but debated returning it after she asked that they just be friends. Opting to hold onto it for some other time, he had buried it in his underwear drawer – until the night before. He had completed trimming the tree and wrapping all of his son's gifts and realized that Christmas was a time for family. And if he wanted to have Brayden and Lulu with him the next year, he would have to stay on the top of her mind.

"It's a locket," he confided in Brayden, pulling him into his lap, "And it has your picture in it from when you were first born. See, your mom doesn't know that I was there to see you that day. But I was. I drove all the way to Boston in a thunderstorm so that I could see you. I was just too afraid to let her know I was there. But I took lots of pictures of you to bring home with me. And Daddy keeps them in his special box with the lock on it under the bed."

Johnny's voice drifted off as he remembered seeing his son for the first time. Only, he had no way of knowing for sure if the baby in the nursery window was his, and had no hope of ever meeting the child.

"You think she'll like it?" he asked the little boy in his lap. "It's important that she does. We have a lot riding on your mom taking me back."

"Vroom!" Brayden yelled enthusiastically, pointing to the train set on the other side of the room.

"_Train_," Johnny stressed, anxious to teach him a new word. Instead of repeating the word, Brayden simply turned around in his lap and pinched Johnny's nose.

"Oh no you didn't, kid. You know what happens when you get my nose…" he grinned, standing up and holding the toddler above his head. "You get to go on a plane ride!"

"Mo!" Brayden giggled his word for more. "Mo!"

Johnny started spinning him around when the doorbell chimed. He glanced at the clock radio on his nightstand. It was still twenty minutes before Lulu's shift ended.

"Who could that be?" he wondered aloud, pulling Brayden to his hip. "Let's just be quiet. Maybe they will go away."

His theory was proven wrong when the doorbell rang again and again a few moments later. Eventually, whoever was on the other side held the button down so that the dinging became an obnoxious roar. Realizing that the guest was not going anywhere, Johnny headed downstairs with Brayden still in his grasp, closing and locking his bedroom door on the way down.

"Who is it?" he called with irritation. The last thing he wanted was somebody catching him spending the morning with Brayden and putting every hope he had for a relationship with his child on hold.

"Your sister! Come on; open the damn door, John!"

"Shit!" he swore under his breath, then mentally cursed himself for cursing in front of his child. He didn't have time to apologize for it, though. He had to figure out a good excuse for Brayden's presence in his home before he greeted Claudia. After she started pounding on the door again, his son covered his little ears with his hands and pouted.

"I know… she's really loud," he whispered, kissing the child's forehead. He set Brayden down on the floor and crossed the room to open the door for his sister.

"Claudia! What are you doing here?"

"Merry Christmas to you, too…" Claudia replied with irritation, wrapping him into a hug. "Can't a girl come home to spend the holidays with her only family member who is not in prison without being greeted with false excitement?"

"False excitement?" Johnny questioned, noting the high pitch of his own voice and adjusting. "No, I'm just… surprised."

"I can see that," she remarked, pulling away from him and gesturing to her bags in the hallway. He took the hint and retrieved them, closing the door behind him once they were safely in the apartment. Panic set in when he realized that he could no longer see Brayden out of the corner of his eye. He started scanning the room, but tried to remain calm enough so that Claudia would not catch on. "You should have called. I would have met you at the airport."

"What are you hiding?" she questioned, following his glances around the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Obviously I caught you at a bad time, because you look like you are about to crawl out of your skin. What's going on?" she pushed, circling the room. "Oh my God… you have a woman here, don't you?"

Johnny was debating whether or not to use the excuse his sister set out for him when a loud crash rang out from the other side of the room, followed by the sound of Brayden crying. He spun around and saw a lamp in pieces on the floor and his son, sitting terrified next to it.

He barely heard his sister interrogate him as to the identity of the child as he rushed over to the boy and picked him up to search him for any sign of an injury. When he realized that Brayden was just scared, he rocked him back and forth in his arms and rubbed his curly brown hair. "You're okay. Everything's going to be okay…"

"Johnny!" Claudia interrupted. "Who the hell is that?"

"This?" Johnny answered with a question. He had to think fast because Claudia was on to him. "This is Ethan's nephew." At least he was telling her the truth, even if it wasn't the whole story.

"Lucky's kid?"

"No, Lulu's," he clarified, praying that his sister was a poor judge of children's ages. Fortunately, he had never delved into too much detail about his breakup to Claudia. He just had to pray that the child whimpering on his shoulder did not resemble him too closely for her to connect it.

"Lulu? As in your ex-girlfriend? Why the hell would you be babysitting for that skank?"

He wanted to snap at his sister for using that terminology in reference to Lulu, but realized it would not help his case. Instead, he nodded his head. "Yeah, Ethan was supposed to be watching the kid, but some con he was running went south. He left him with me an hour ago."

"Since when do your employees use you as a babysitting service?" she replied with irritation in her voice. "I'm telling you, John, you should have fired Ethan a long time ago. He has been nothing but trouble."

"Yeah, well, I think I'm starting to realize it," he played along, hiding his relief when Brayden stopped sobbing and sniffled against his shoulder.

"Why can't you just bring the brat back to his mother?" Claudia continued.

"I would if I had any clue where she was," he covered. "Ethan told me he would call her to come get him."

"I'm confused. Since when is Blondie even back in town? I thought she moved away a long time ago."

"Your guess is as good as mine," he shrugged his shoulders.

"I have to admit, I kind of pity the kid. I mean, there should be laws against women like that procreating."

It was getting harder for Johnny to keep his mouth shut. He focused on Brayden's breathing to keep himself calm.

"Who is the unlucky bastard saddled down to her and the kid, anyway?" Claudia asked.

"Not sure," he muttered, taking a seat on the couch next to her. He had to get her off of this topic quickly. "How long are you staying?"

"Already trying to get rid of me?"

"Depends on why you're here."

"I told you… it's just a visit. I missed you."

"This has nothing to do with work?" he pressed.

Before she could answer, there was a soft knock at the door. He felt his stomach drop when he realized it was probably Lulu. She was not going to be happy to see Claudia there. And worst of all, he was going to have to play the part and treat her like an ex-girlfriend who was only a nuisance to him.

"That's probably Lulu," he sighed. "Did you want to go upstairs and get settled in the guestroom?"

"And miss the chance to say hello to my good friend Lulu? I don't think so," Claudia replied with attitude. "Get the door, John."

He stood slowly, keeping Brayden in his arms out of fear that his sister might get a good look at him and see the family resemblance if they got too close. He made sure to open the door wide and step out of Lulu's way so that she would have a good view of Claudia.

"It's about time," he greeted her with annoyance. "I suggest you find a more responsible babysitter next time that won't dump your kid off on me."

Lulu must not have seen Claudia right away, because she looked at Johnny with confusion in her eyes. Her appearance was ragged, obviously having put in a hard day at work. Yet, until he spoke to her with such contempt, she must have been hopeful things would turn around. Her shoulders dropped after he spoke and he noticed the gift wrapped package in her hands.

"My sister is here to visit me for Christmas, and it would be much easier for us to enjoy the holiday without having to watch the kid," he continued, hoping that she would find his apology in the explanation.

"Uh…" she muttered, setting the gift down at her feet and reaching forward to Brayden. Johnny passed him off to her, using all of his will power not to give his son a goodbye kiss or hug as he wanted to.

"That's it? All you have to say for yourself is 'uh'?" Claudia questioned with contempt. "Some mother you are…"

"Claudia…" Lulu greeted softly. She took a moment to connect everything in her head before finally speaking. "I wasn't exactly planning to have my son spend Christmas with a known criminal." 

"You'll need to talk to Ethan about that," Johnny added, cluing her in to his cover. "He dropped him off about an hour ago."

"Tell me, Lulu… what kind of a mother abandons her kid on Christmas morning?" Claudia jabbed from her seat on the couch.

"I don't have to dignify that with an answer," Lulu groaned, adjusting Brayden in her arms and kneeling down to pick up the gift. Johnny handed her the diaper bag and Brayden's coat, which she pulled on him with ease that only a mother could have.

"What's that?" Claudia questioned when she noticed the package in the other woman's arms. "Did you bring John a present? Hoping to get back in his bed? Because it's not going to happen, Sweetie. You'll have to find some other man to take care of you and the brat."

"Claudia…" Johnny warned, about ready to throw his sister out of the house. "That's not necessary."

"No, it's fine," Lulu sighed. "For your information, Claudia, this is a Christmas gift for my son. I was going to let him open it right away, but I wouldn't want to sour the mood in this room by bringing in some real human emotion."

"Ouch," Claudia growled. "Leave."

"Gladly," Lulu rolled her eyes. She glanced briefly at Johnny before turning to leave. That small amount of eye contact was all he needed to know that she was more than a little freaked out to see his sister back in town.

The glimmer of hope he had when he saw the gift that was obviously for him in Lulu's arms disappeared as quickly as it had come on. He hoped she would hold onto it just like he would have to hold on to the locket he got for her.

He watched Lulu and Brayden disappear into the elevator and closed the door, saying a silent prayer that Claudia's visit would be short lived. He was not about to let his sister negate all of the progress he had made to bring his family together.


	8. Chapter 7

**_Hi all – thanks for your reviews! This chapter was hard to write… you'll see why. Any reviews are greatly appreciated! Also – I try not to pull currently storylines on TV into things, but the Claudia/Johnny mother/son thing is super tempting to include. Any thoughts you have on that would be welcome. Thanks in advance!_**

Johnny walked out of his bathroom and groaned when he spotted the tuxedo sitting on his bed. It was just another indication of his sister's prolonged stay in his home. The room seemed emptier since he had ordered his guards to remove the Christmas tree and store all of Brayden's gifts in a safe in the basement. He hated himself for ridding his home from all traces of his son, but there was no way he was going to allow Claudia to find evidence that Brayden was his child.

In the six days since his sister had arrived, his life had been hell. She was on his back constantly about the business, and when he finally got her to shut up about that, she started in about Lulu. Their conversation the previous night still had him feeling nauseous.

"_I had some guys dig into it, John. Lulu left Port Charles a few months before she gave birth to that kid. And according to Spinelli, the two of you had not been broken up that long when she ran off."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_This girl was willing to let you go to jail for a murder she committed. I don't think it would be beyond her to make sure she got pregnant with your kid and wait to use that as leverage against you when she needs another favor."_

"_You're insane…"_

"_I'm a realist," she argued. "I know girls like that. Hell, I am a girl like that."_

"_Will you just drop it?" he groaned, rubbing his temple. "If I had any suspicion that Lulu's kid was mind, don't you think I would have checked into that?"_

"_Have you?" she pushed._

"_Have I what?"_

"_Asked for a DNA test."_

_Realizing she was never going to give up, Johnny gave in. "As a matter of fact, I did."_

"_Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? Damn it, John… you take the brooding silence thing way too seriously. So, who's the daddy?"_

"_Not me," he sighed, pouring himself a drink. "That's all you need to know."_

"_Oh, come on, spill," she begged, moving behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders. "If you wanted a DNA test, then there was reason to believe the kid was yours. So Lulu must have been whoring herself out while she was still stringing you along."_

_Johnny felt his jaw tighten at Claudia's disrespect towards Lulu. He bit his lip hard to keep himself from lashing out._

"_Girls like Lulu Spencer don't really want to be on their own," she continued. "There has to be a good reason for her to keep the father's identity a secret – which means it's juicy. And I can tell that you know more than you're telling me. Come on, John… it can be my Christmas present…"_

"_I already gave you a diamond bracelet as your Christmas present. Look, there's a good reason that Brayden's father is not in his life. If his paternity came out, he could be in danger. I don't owe Lulu much, but I respect her enough to keep her secret quiet in order to keep an innocent child safe," he continued, walking across the room to put distance between them._

"_So the kid's father in involved in the business," she translated. "Do we know him?"_

"_You're not getting any more information from me," he insisted, climbing the stairs. "As far as I'm concerned, Lulu is no longer a topic of conversation."_

Claudia had promised that if he accompanied her to the New Year's Eve party at the Metro Court that night, she would be on a plane back to Italy in the morning. He loved his sister, but she prevented him from spending time with his son. He had not heard from Lulu all week. It made him feel like he was going to lose his mind.

Even after Claudia left, he would probably need to get back in Lulu's good graces. She was definitely not happy to find her son in the same room as Claudia, and his sister's demeanor towards her did not help the situation.

He opened his dresser and looked at the gift he had never had the opportunity to give to Lulu. He could only hope that it would be enough to get her to open up to him again.

_**Lulu's Bedroom**_

__"Try this one," Maxie ordered, shoving a blue dress into Lulu's hands. "It should be the perfect color on you."

"What? You don't like this one?" Lulu laughed, running her hands down the long sleeves of a dress she had purchased on clearance for a funeral a few years prior.

"There's no chance in hell that you are going on your first date in _forever_ wearing a dress that would only be acceptable if it were worn by a ninety-nine year old widow in mourning. And even then, it would be a major failure."

"It has not been forever since my last date," she argued.

"Oh, really, then when's the last time you had sex?"

"That's none of your business," Lulu snapped back, grabbing the blue dress from Maxie's hands and bringing it into her bathroom to change.

"You're right. That's a stupid question because I can figure it out all by myself," Maxie continued ranting as she took a seat on Lulu's bed. "Let's see… Brayden is nineteen months old, plus nine months… that's more than two years! I know preachers who get more action than that."

"It's a first date, Maxie. One that I was tricked into going on, at that, so there will definitely be no sex for me tonight."

"You were not tricked into anything," Maxie clarified. "Patrick lost that game to Matt fair and square."

"You're right. But the fact that you made a bet with him that he would have to take me out on New Year's Eve if he lost – that's the trickery."

"I scored you a date with a sexy neurosurgeon who is a fantastic dad, at that. A good best friend would be thanking me!"

Lulu exited the bathroom to model Maxie's dress. "The problem with your brilliant plan, Maxie, is that Patrick probably has no interest in this date. His hand was forced, and he's a nice enough guy to follow through on his end of the deal."

"Do you want him to be interested?"

"What?"

"Are you interested in Patrick enough to want him to want you?"

"It disturbs me that I understand you," Lulu shook her head as she dug through her jewelry box to find the right earrings.

"Answer the question."

"I don't know. Patrick is a great guy. He's funny and smart, and you're right – he's an amazing father. But I was there when Robin died. She was his soul mate. I'm just not sure he's ready to date."

"It's been three years. He's ready," Maxie assured. "Robin was my cousin, and I loved her like a sister. You know that I would not be pushing Patrick to find someone new if I didn't adore said new person. I saw the two of you at Christmas. There's something there, and I think if you get out of your own way, you could be really happy with Patrick."

"I'm not in my own way…"

"It's getting late, and I have to go get ready for my own New Year's Eve date," Maxie cut her off, getting off the bed and exiting the room quickly. "I'll see you at the Metro Court!"

_**Metro Court Restaurant, 10 p.m.**_

__Johnny stepped off the elevator with Claudia on his arm. He quickly scanned the room to make a mental note of any attendee who could possibly be a target of his sister's criticism. Claudia was not a popular person in Port Charles, and a big public party would give her an opportunity to lash out, especially at her ex-husband.

He was relieved when there was no sign of his former brother-in-law. Claudia was still bitter about the dissolution of her fake marriage to Sonny and would take any chance she got to humiliate him in public. When she left for Italy, it had taken Johnny months to create a truce between their families. Any of his sister's antics that evening could reverse it, and now that Brayden living in Port Charles, he could not risk a war.

"You okay?" Claudia asked him. "You seem preoccupied."

"You know I hate these things, Claudia. I don't know why you dragged me here."

"Since when is it a crime for me to want to visit all of the people in this town I missed so much?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm getting us some drinks," he sighed, heading for the bar and leaving Claudia alone.

She scanned the room herself and smiled when she spotted Lucky walking out to the balcony. She had never spent much time talking with the man, but he was Lulu's brother. He could be the key to the information she was so anxious to obtain.

She crossed the room and positioned herself just inside the balcony door, listening to the conversation outside.

"You've been a mess ever since your sister came back to town. I hate to say it, man, but you have to get yourself together."

"How exactly do you suggest I do that?" Lucky snapped back. "This is my sister and my nephew we're talking about! It's my job to make sure they are safe, and I don't think she has a clue about the dangers of moving back here."

"Of course she does. Look, I'm Sonny Corinthos' son. I get the dangers that go along with that. Your sister sees it too. But you have to let her make her own choices. She's pulled her life together quickly and been an amazing mother. And she's making a sacrifice – raising her son alone to keep him safe."

"And what about when someone connects it all? How do I keep them safe when people figure out who his father is?"

"We're all going to make sure that doesn't happen. The first step in making that happen, though, is if you can just relax and enjoy yourself at a party like a normal person. So here's what we're going to do… we're gonna go inside, get some drinks and ring in the new year without obsessing."

Claudia took a step away from the door and watched as Lucky walked back inside with Dante Falconeri on his tail. She felt a smile form on her lips. "Bingo."

"You were totally right. That was, without a doubt, the best Chinese food I've ever had," Lulu remarked as she and Patrick got into the elevator at the Metro Court.

"I'm glad you liked it," Patrick smiled, "I was a little concerned that you would hate my idea to drive forty-five minutes away for dinner when the party here was already underway. I just thought it might be nice to hang out and talk without my well-meaning sister-in-law critiquing every move we made all night."

"Maxie?" she joked. "She would never…"

"You're right. She is one to keep to her own business," he laughed. "Even so, I was nervous enough about going on a date. I didn't need an audience."

She watched his cheeks turn red when he admitted that he was nervous. She couldn't help but smile.

"And now I'm just embarrassing myself," he groaned. "Sorry… you are probably so ready to get rid of me."

"Why would you say that?"

"Many reasons. I was late to pick you up because my daughter couldn't find the right pajamas to wear. I showed up with pink glitter all over my jacket from her current art project. Oh, then there was the part where I won't stop talking about my kid like some obsessed parent… I used to date all the time. I don't know what happened to that guy."

"First of all, I don't mind a little pink glitter. And we both spend a lot of time talking about our kids. I'm no expert; I haven't been on a date since before I got pregnant, but I think you're a great dad. I like talking to you about Emma."

"Really?" he questioned as the elevator stopped on the floor of the party.

"Absolutely," she smiled, allowing herself to look into his eyes. It had been a long time since she had felt butterflies in her stomach like she did at that moment, at least not with anybody except Johnny. She dismissed the thought from her head as soon as she felt his breath on her face. She closed the minimal space he had left between them and pressed her lips gently against his.

Johnny had been nursing a drink at the bar when the elevator doors opened across the room. He glanced up and felt his heart catch in his throat when he spotted Lulu kissing another man. A wave of nausea washed over him – one that could have been from the multiple drinks he had consumed on an empty stomach. However, he was sure that it was from the frustration of his sister ruining the progress he had made with Lulu. Now he was back to square one, and apparently she was starting something new with Patrick Drake.

He looked around for Claudia, hoping to convince her that it was time to go, but there was no sign of her. He was fully capable of leaving on his own. However, he knew Claudia may be ready to go off the deep end, and with Lulu now in the room, he did not want her to be the target of his sister's inevitable outburst. So instead of leaving, he signaled for the bartender to refill his drink and got comfortable hiding out at the back of the bar.

"Ten minutes until the new year," Lucky remarked as he pulled his sister into a hug. "And just so you know, Maxie is taking over/under bets on the length of your midnight kiss."

"Oh my God," she rolled her eyes. "I knew coming here for a first date was a bad idea."

"I'm just glad to see you on a first date at all. I want to see you happy, and if Patrick does that for you, then he has my blessing."

Lulu glanced behind her to find Patrick in conversation with his brother. "It's one date," she clarified to Lucky in a whisper. "Don't go marrying me off yet."

Across the room, Claudia stood poised to get her revenge on Sonny. She had been waiting for the appropriate timing to interrupt his night with Kate from the moment the two waltzed into the restaurant. They appeared unable to keep their hands off of one another, which was a complete smack in the face considering how he started his infatuation with Kate while he was still married to Claudia.

She glanced at the clock briefly, realizing that it was now or never. She would be damned if she was going to allow Kate to ring in the New Year with Sonny on a happy note. She marched up to the stage and grabbed a microphone, flipping it on before anybody noticed she was out of place.

"Excuse me," she began, "Can I get everybody's attention please?"

Johnny's head snapped up from his drink when his sister's voice rang out over the sound system. He watched how she had grabbed everybody's attention and knew that she was up to no good.

"I would like to make a toast," Claudia announced, holding up her champagne glass. "As we get ready to start a brand new year, I think it is only fitting for us to recognize Sonny Corinthos…"

Patrick returned to Lulu's side and handed her a glass of champagne. "Any idea what this is about?" he whispered.

"Not a clue, but I can assure you that it's probably not good," she answered, glancing across the room to Johnny, who was too focused on his sister to notice.

"Not only is Sonny a force in the business world, but he is a real _family_ man. There is nothing Sonny would not do for his children. In fact, he has fearlessly raised them in a very dangerous line of work while others may have turned their back on their children because of the risk."

With that remark, she struck way too close to home for Johnny. He got up out of his seat quickly, noticing his inebriation when a wave of nausea swept over him. He grabbed the bar to stay upright and took deep breaths to maintain his composure, allowing Claudia the time to continue her rant uninterrupted.

"But Sonny Corinthos is not one of those men. Family means everything to Sonny. From his sons and his daughter, and now… well, who would have thought Sonny would live long enough to see his grandchildren."

"What the hell is this about?" Sonny piped up.

"Sonny doesn't have grandchildren," Kate added.

"Oh, doesn't he?" Claudia argued. "In fact, I met the little guy on Christmas. Lulu – are you neglecting to share updated pictures of little Benjamin with his daddy's family?"

Lulu felt the eyes of everybody in the room turn in her direction. She was still trying to process the previous statement that Claudia had made. She was referring to Sonny as Brayden's grandfather, which clearly demonstrated that she did not suspect Johnny as his father. Regardless, it was unsettling to have the woman in front of everybody in town announcing that he was a Corinthos.

"His name is _Brayden_," Lucky spoke up, crossing the room to his sister's side when she was clearly speechless. "And he has absolutely nothing to do with Sonny."

"Except DNA," Claudia announced. "Right, Dante?"

"Dante, what is she talking about?" Olivia questioned frantically from across the room.

"Isn't it obvious, Olivia?" Claudia answered. "Your perfect little angel of a son knocked up the town slut and is so noble that he is letting the kid grow up without a daddy so Sonny can't get his claws into him. I can't say that I blame him. Children in Sonny's life wind up shot and get in explosions… typically at Sonny's hands, but still…"

"I think we've all heard enough, Claudia!" Sonny snapped. "Now it's time for someone else to talk. Lulu? Dante? Can somebody explain to me what she's talking about?"

"This is all insane," Lucky spoke up before anybody could say another word. "Patrick, can you please bring my sister home?"

"Nobody leaves until I get some answers here!" Olivia exclaimed. "Is it true? Is Brayden my grandson?"

Dante took a quick look at Lulu, who was pale and obviously panicked. Without another thought, he opened his mouth to answer his mother. "Yes, it's true."

Lulu felt the only color remaining in her face disappear at Dante's admission. She moved to look towards Johnny, but lost her balance and fell backwards into Lucky's arms.

"Don't say anything," Lucky whispered in her ear. "Let Patrick take you home. I will deal with this."

"See, Kate? Your precious Sonny is such a prize that his own son had to give up a child just to keep him safe. Do you really feel like the winner now?" Claudia continued her rant.

"Shut up, Claudia!" Sonny screamed. "That's enough out of you!"

"Why wouldn't you tell me? How could you keep this a secret?" Olivia questioned her son. "I raised you better than that!"

"I want to meet my grandson," Sonny declared. "Now!"

"He is not your grandson!" Johnny screamed, having witnessed enough chaos in the room. There was no way he was going to allow Sonny to stake claim to his child. "Brayden is _my_ son, not Dante's. Lulu never even met Dante until a few months ago."

"Oh my God," Lucky groaned, rubbing his temple. "This is not happening…"

"What's he talking about? Someone needs to tell the truth right now!" Olivia interjected.

"Brayden is my son," Johnny repeated. "That's the truth."

Olivia turned her attention to Lulu. "Which one is it? What is the truth here?"

"You don't have to answer to anybody," Lucky coached his sister, but she ignored his advice. She shook her head and stepped forward to answer Olivia.

"Johnny is telling the truth," she spoke softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get home to my son."

The room erupted into chaos once again as Lulu rushed out of it. But all Johnny could think about was his admission and the ripple effect it was about to have on their lives. Now that their secret was out in the open, everything was going to change. He just was not sure if that was for better or for worse.


	9. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Lulu stared at her son who was fast asleep in the playpen in front of her. It amazed her how peaceful he could be amidst the chaos surrounding his young life. It would never be simple again, not after the events of the previous night. A thought like that would have made her cry a few hours before that moment, but she was all cried out.

"You should try to sleep."

She glanced up from Brayden at Patrick, who crossed the room and handed her a glass of water. He had caught up to her after she left the restaurant the night before and driven her back to his place to get Brayden from the babysitter. When they got to his house, Brayden and Emma were fast asleep. The events of the evening caught up to Lulu as soon as she set eyes her son. She broke down right there in Patrick's living room.

"It's a useless endeavor," she sighed, taking the glass from him when he sat on his couch next to her. "Besides, I think I should probably stop being such an imposition to you and bring Brayden home."

"You're not an imposition," he corrected. "I'm pretty sure that I asked you to stay the night. Actually, I insisted."

"Because you felt sorry for me."

"Because of a lot of things, but none of them involve pity."

Lulu offered him a small smile. She picked her cell phone up off the coffee table in front of her and looked down at the screen. "32 missed calls… I don't think I've ever been so popular."

"About that," Patrick started, "Lucky called me a few times. I know you said you didn't want to talk to him, but I did answer just so that he knew you two were safe."

"Considering the fact that half of my missed calls were from him, I think that was a good idea."

"Were the other ones from Johnny?"

"He didn't call you, did he?"

He shook his head. "No, but if I were in his shoes, I would be worried about Brayden."

Lulu nodded. She knew that she should call Johnny, at least text him to offer reassurance that Brayden was safe. But the thought of contacting him in a civil way seemed impossible. She had never been angrier with him. Yet, at the same time, part of her was not surprised that he blurted the truth out. It had to be difficult for him to keep their secret.

"I'm conflicted about calling him," she admitted, "Part of me wants to rip him to shreds, but another part of me feels like I should cut him some slack."

"This is none of my business, but what exactly is your relationship with Johnny? How long has he known that he's Brayden's father?" Patrick asked hesitantly.

"As insane as it sounds, we are sort of friends, I guess," she rambled. "I don't know exactly. But Johnny knew Brayden was his before I even gave birth, even though I wouldn't admit it to him until months after that. I wasn't ever going to tell anybody, especially Johnny. It's why I moved away, so that I could raise my baby away from the craziness in this town."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Johnny kept showing up in Boston and pushing for the truth. It was easier to lie when I was pregnant, but the first time he saw Brayden… there was no lying after that. He had the confirmation before I even opened my mouth." 

"And he agreed to stay away?"

Lulu nodded. "When I was living in Boston, he would come on business trips. I would drop Brayden off with him for a few hours at a time. Moving back here – that's what caused this. Everybody kept warning me, but I wouldn't listen. I thought we could make this work."

"You're talking like something devastating has happened. And it's true, I'm sure your life might be a little more difficult now that people know that Johnny is Brayden's father, but look at him, Lulu. He's here and he's healthy. Nothing about this situation is terrible."

Before she could argue his point, the doorbell rang. She looked to the door across the room, then back at Patrick.

"Do you want me to answer that?" he asked. "Because I don't have to."

"Lucky's the only one who knows I'm here. Go ahead."

Her eyes followed him across the room as he opened the door. She could not see the visitor, but she heard perfectly clear when he asked for Leslie Lu Spencer. She didn't recognize his voice, but she got up from the couch and opened the door wider to show herself.

"That's me."

The man at the door was dressed in a dark suit. He handed her a large manila envelope before muttering the phrase that made Lulu's blood run cold.

"You've been served."

**(Johnny's Penthouse, 1 hour later)**

Johnny raced down the stairs when he heard his cell phone ringing, praying that Lulu was finally calling him back. He sent guards to her house, Lucky's, Maxie's and the hospital that morning to keep an eye on her and Brayden, but they were not in any of those locations. He knew that she was probably livid, and had every right to be, but their safety had to take priority. He would rather she hate him from a safe place than be in danger from one of his enemies.

He did not recognize the number on the screen, but answered anyway just in case it was Lulu.

"Hello?"

"_Mr. Zacchara, can you tell me anything more about your son? Is he the heir to the Zacchara fortune?"_

"Look, I'm going to tell you what I've told every other reporter that has called here," he growled into the phone, "No comment!"

He threw his phone down on the couch and groaned. It was bad enough that some overzealous reporter decided that it was a good idea to run a story on the front page of the morning paper announcing to the world that Brayden Spencer was actually a Zacchara. Now he had reporters from all over the state calling him for interviews.

When he heard pounding on his front door, he bolted to it, ready to lay into whatever sleazy newsperson was waiting on the other side. He yanked it open quickly, only to be met with Lulu's open hand slapping him across the face.

It was true that he had been slapped before, but Johnny had never felt so blindsided by it. Every speculation he had about their conversation involved her anger, but the fire in her eyes far surpassed anything he had ever seen from the woman he still loved so much. He pursed his lips together and shook his head to gather himself before stepping aside to let her in.

"Where the hell do you get off?" she exclaimed as she pushed past him. "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Where's Brayden?" Johnny asked, ignoring her rage when there was no sign of their toddler.

"I could have listened to Lucky," Lulu continued her rant as she paced the room. "I could have lied… hell, Nikolas even offered to get the DNA tests forged to throw you off. But I didn't, Johnny. I gave you the benefit of the doubt and I told you the truth…"

"Lulu, where is Brayden?" he repeated, unable to focus on anything else.

"Not here," she answered. "You're not listening to me. Although, I don't know why that surprises me. You sure as hell didn't seem to give a damn about anybody but yourself when you made your little proclamation last ni-."

"I need to know where he is **now**."

"That's none of your damned business," she replied snidely.

"He is my son!" Johnny snapped. He knew she was stubborn. He even found that trait attractive most of the time. But when the information he needed was so dire, he had no patience for it. "And he could be in danger. So, yes, it is my damned business!"

"Not according to the State of New York." Her voice was calmer, but even more vengeful than it had been moments ago.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Your name isn't on the birth certificate, Johnny. We never had a DNA test done to show paternity, so there's no concrete proof linking you to Brayden," she explained, reaching into her purse and pulling out a manila envelope. She held it out to him. "And you can count on me fighting you every step of the way to get it."

"You want to fight me for custody?"

His words came out in a whisper. Shock was not a strong enough word to describe the emotions coursing through his body when she threw around words like _DNA test_ and _proof_. He loved Lulu with everything he had, and here she was, threatening to rip his child out of his life.

"I never thought you were going to become your father…" she remarked. The honesty in her statement bothered him the most. She actually believed he was that evil, or that crazy. He couldn't be sure which of Anthony's traits she was alluding to.

"Did you seriously expect me to give you full custody without defending myself?" she questioned. "How exactly are you going to accomplish that, John? Blackmail? Threats? Because I'm not sca-..."

"Hold on…" he interrupted. "I know I was not completely sober last night, but I have no recollection of asking you for full custody of Brayden."

"These seem to say something different," she argued, shoving the envelope in her extended hand against his chest.

Johnny pulled what felt thick enough to be a manuscript out of the envelope and started reading the top page. The documents in front of him indicated that he was filing for full custody of Brayden, citing Lulu as an unfit parent.

"I don't know where these came from," he explained. "But I would _never _call you unfit. Lulu, you've gotta believe me. I don't want to take Brayden away from you."

She exhaled for what seemed like the first time since she had shown up at his doorstep. He could tell that she was debating with herself as to whether or not she could trust him.

"Law suits don't fall out of the sky," she argued, her voice much softer. He could tell she wanted to believe him.

"I realize that," he nodded, paging through the documents in front of him. "But I promise you… I didn't initiate this one."

"Then who did?"

"That would be me."

They both looked to the doorway to find Claudia standing in all her glory. She entered the room and closed the door, locking it behind her.

"Last time I checked, you were on a flight back to Italy," Johnny groaned at the sight of his sister. "You shouldn't be here trying to intimidate Lulu."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know that you're getting everything in life you deserve, John," Claudia grinned. "Most importantly, your son."

"You filed custody papers in Johnny's name?" Lulu questioned. "Without him knowing about it?"

"Wow, blondie got one right," Claudia taunted.

"Enough, Claudia!" Johnny scolded, grabbing his cell phone. "Consider this custody suit closed. I'm going to call my lawyer and get him to drop this right now."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Claudia warned. "Not unless you want to explain to your son why his mother is serving a life sentence in Pentonville."

Johnny immediately realized what his sister was planning. He glanced back at Lulu, whose face had become paler than he had seen since the night his sister was determined to bring back into their memories.

"You wouldn't…"

"Oh, but it's already in motion, little brother," Claudia replied smugly. "All it takes is one phone call and little miss Lulu here will be convicted of murdering Logan Hayes, sending her away for life and giving you full access to your son."


	10. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9 **

"Spinelli… it's me again. Can you please call me and tell me if you have any information for me yet? Look, I know you're busy, but I'm running out of time here. Just call me…"

Lulu pressed the end button on her cell phone before the orderly coming down the hallway heard any of the message that she had left. It had been two weeks since Claudia had filed the custody papers on Johnny's behalf, and the hearing was set to take place in two days. As it stood, she was the subject of the hottest hospital gossip. The last thing she needed was to have more of her personal business broadcast throughout the staff.

Shoving her phone in the pocket of her scrubs, she picked up the coffees that she had just purchased from the cafeteria and continued around the corner to her destination. She knocked softly on the partially opened door and poked her head inside.

"Do you have five minutes?"

Patrick looked up from his charts and shot a smile in her direction. Lulu felt all of the anxiety in her body fade away. With all of the stress she had been under throughout the past weeks, he had been a bright spot. They had been on a few dates since New Year's Eve, and even though there was so much going on in her life, she looked forward to their time together, which is exactly why she was so desperate to have Spinelli find something to help her.

"I actually have seven until my next surgery," he answered.

"Perfect," she replied, slipping inside and closing the door behind her. "I thought you could use something to keep you awake."

"I am good," he started, getting out of his seat. He moved swiftly across the room and planted a kiss on her lips. "But seven minutes good? Not exactly what I was thinking about for our first time together."

She blushed and pressed the coffee in her hand against his chest. "Not what I had in mind."

"I hope it's been on your mind a little," he joked, taking a sip of the coffee. "And thank you for this."

"Now that you're upping your caffeine intake," she started, slipping past him and leaning against his desk. "I was thinking about asking Maxie and Matt to watch Brayden for a little while tonight. Any chance I could stop by after Emma's bedtime?"

"Actually, Emma has a slumber party tonight. Why don't I just come to your place? I can bring dinner."

"That would be great. We really need to talk."

Johnny stared at the paperwork in front of him. Somewhere in Port Charles, there was a judge who was ready to pass a judgment that could rip Brayden out of Lulu's arms forever. It was all because of him, and he was getting nowhere in forcing Claudia to back off. Even if he went around Claudia and dropped the custody suit, his sister was ready to go to the police and send Lulu to prison.

He was so focused on the papers that he did not hear his front door open and close. It wasn't until he heard Ethan clear his throat that he snapped out of the trance he was in.

"What are you doing here?" he sighed. "You've already made it clear that you will come after me if necessary to protect your sister's interest. I get it."

The first time Ethan had confronted him after word of the custody suit got out, it ended with him on the floor with a black eye. It would have been easy to tell him the truth. After all, he was Lulu's brother without a badge. But adding more accomplices to Logan's murder was not going to help anybody, certainly not Lulu. So he decided to allow the entire town to hate him, at least until he figured out a solution.

"I wish it was that easy," Ethan argued. "But there's something that keeps bothering me. I don't think you're telling me everything."

"Why is that?"

"How is it that you can insist to me that you don't want to hurt Lulu, then turn around and try to take her son away from her?"

"I want to find a compromise, that's it," Johnny replied, leaving the paperwork on his desk and crossing the room to pour a drink. As he took the first sip, his mind flashed back to the previous night.

"_We're just going around in circles," Lulu groaned, rubbing her eyes from exhaustion. "Let's just face it… you're going to get full custody of Brayden unless I take him and disappear."_

"_Every time you say that, I cringe," he admitted, handing her a cup of coffee and taking a seat next to her on his couch. "There's no way that I'm going to let you take our son and run away."_

"_You're the one that got us into this mess! Don't talk to me like you're calling the shots here!"_

_He mentally cursed himself for the phrasing of his last statement. He did not want to intimidate or threaten her. All he wanted was to get them out of the situation they were in. "I didn't mean… look, I think there might be a way to stop this custody hearing and give Claudia what she wants without you going to prison."_

"_We're not going to kill your sister."_

"_Not what I was thinking," he clarified._

"_Then what is this great idea?" she yawned. "Because we have three days to figure this out, and every part of me is saying pack Brayden up and get on the next bus to Canada."_

"_You could marry me."_

"Compromise?"

Ethan's question brought him back to the present. He set his drink down and turned around to face his friend, or at least, the man who used to be his friend.

"A way for both Lulu and me to raise our son."

"So this custody suit is you bullying my sister into letting that little boy grow up as Brayden Zacchara?" Ethan shook his head. "You're a class act, you know that?"

"I realize you can't see it right now, but I care about Lulu a lot. I even…hell, nevermind."

"You what, Johnny?" Ethan pressed, stepping forward and getting in his face. "You _love_ my sister?"

"Bingo," Johnny admitted. "I love her."

"You're ruining her life, that's what you're doing to her."

Without further confrontation, Ethan turned around to leave. He reached the door and opened it, pausing briefly before turning around to give Johnny one more shot to the heart.

"You know she's dating Patrick Drake, right? It's pretty clear that she is falling in love with him. So do us all a favor and leave her alone. He's a better father for Brayden, anyway."

"Okay, dinner was great. Your son is fast asleep, and you still look like you're about to crawl out of your skin," Patrick remarked as Lulu picked up the plates in front of them and carried them to the sink. "What's going on?"

"Is it really that noticeable?" she asked. "I thought I was covering well."

"I had to ask you three times to pass the salt," he laughed. "I know that you're dealing with a lot right now, so you have every right to be distracted. But, I will have you know that I'm a really great listener. Sometimes talking about it helps."

She grabbed the pan of brownies off of the counter and brought them to the kitchen table. She had been trying to find the correct words to start this conversation all night long, but there were so many interruptions that she lost her nerve.

"You know how everything shifts when you become a parent?" she started. "Everybody tells you that it will, but you just don't know until that moment you realize that you're responsible for this little person's life."

He nodded. "And you realize that there's nothing you wouldn't do for your child."

"Exactly!" she agreed, putting a brownie on the plate in front of him and grabbing one for herself.

"I don't get it," he shook his head, picking off a piece of the brownie and popping it in his mouth. "Parenthood isn't that new to you. That revelation must have hit you before."

"It did, but I never really had to act on it until now," she admitted. Until that moment, she did not realize how much she was starting to care for Patrick. The thought of telling him about her plan to keep Brayden and the possibility of losing him over it really scared her. "I think I found a way to make sure that I keep custody of Brayden."

"That's amazing!" he smiled, taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "What a relief, huh?"

"Hold your excitement until I explain," she warned. "If I do nothing and just show up in court the day after tomorrow, I'm going to lose my son. I have been trying so hard to avoid that…"

"I don't understand," he interrupted. "What evidence could Johnny possibly have to convince a judge that he should have full custody?"

She looked into his eyes and wanted so badly to tell him the truth. She trusted Patrick, and she knew that he would never judge her for what happened with Logan, just as much as she knew that his knowledge of her crime would make him an accomplice. Emma had already lost her mother. Putting Patrick in the middle of a murder investigation was not an option.

"Johnny has a lot of money and a lot of pull… I'm pretty sure he bought off a judge," she lied. It made her feel nauseous for two reasons. First, Patrick deserved the truth. And even a little more frustrating was that she had to paint Johnny as an evil person when she was pretty sure that he hated their current situation just as much as she did.

"So did you come up with some sort of plan?"

She nodded and put her face in her hands.

"I'm going to marry Johnny tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Johnny took a deep breath and straightened his tie before knocking on Lulu's front door. This was it – the beginning of their second chance to make it work. He was well aware that she was only marrying him to keep Brayden. But the marriage was going to keep them in close proximity. It would be far more difficult for her to avoid him when they were under the same roof.

He waited several minutes, and when nobody answered, he let himself in. The living room was a disaster. Toys were scattered across the floor with some of Brayden's clothes mixed in. He could hear his son giggling upstairs, so headed up to see if he could help in any way.

He rounded the corner and spotted Brayden streaking down the hallway, laughing so hard that tears were forming in his eyes. Johnny smiled and worked to corner the toddler, scooping him up in his arms.

"Something tells me that you shouldn't be running around naked, little man."

"Brayden!" Lulu called from the room at the end of the hall. Deciding to be helpful, Johnny carried him down the hall and let himself in, realizing it was Lulu's bedroom too late. She stood in front of him in only her bra and panties and shrieked when she locked eyes with him.

"What the he-" her voice drifted off to shield Brayden's impressionable ears from what she really wanted to say.

"Sorry," Johnny apologized, "I… uh.. I thought this was Brayden's room."

"Well, it's not," she argued, grabbing a blanket off of her bed to cover herself. "What are you even doing here so early?"

"You said I could pick you up at 10… it's in the text you sent me yesterday," he reminded her, unable to keep the grin from his face. She was turning ten shades of red, which was cute considering they had a child together.

Lulu glanced at the clock on her wall and groaned. It was five minutes after ten, and she had completely lost track of time. She hadn't slept at all the night before. After a long, agonizing talk with Patrick, who left more than a little upset, she spent hours going over the past few weeks in her mind. She hoped to find some way to keep Brayden and her single marital status at the same time. But all of the obsessing in the world did not bring her an answer. Instead, she got Brayden up without the energy to clean up after him. Now she had a disaster area in her house, a son running around without any clothes on, and her ex/future husband standing in front of her while she was barely dressed herself. She noticed the suit he was wearing and sighed.

"You're wearing a suit?"

"It's a wedding… I mean, even if it's not for the reasons people usually get married, I thought it was worth dressing well for," he explained, shifting Brayden in his arms as the toddler struggled to get down on the floor.

Lulu realized that the jeans and sweater she had planned to wear would probably not be the right complement to his attire. Her frustration and exhaustion were catching up to her, because that realization in itself made her feel like she could cry.

"Do you mind taking Brayden to his room and getting him dressed?" she asked, needing a few moments to herself. "His room is the first door on the right. There should be some nice outfits in the closet for him, assuming he hasn't pulled them all down."

"Not a problem," he agreed.

He took Brayden into his room, which was even messier than the first floor of the house, and found a tiny shirt and tie that would be appropriate for the occasion. Brayden wasn't thrilled about wearing clothes, but he was able to bribe him with promises of a special treat if he kept his clothes on.

Once his son was ready, Johnny brought him downstairs and found a toy airplane for him to play with. While they waited for Lulu, he took the liberty of cleaning the living room. Within twenty minutes, he heard Lulu walking down the stairs and turned to face her, catching his breath in his throat. She was wearing a form-fitting white dress that stopped right above her knees. Her hair was curled to one side of her shoulder, and she was absolutely gorgeous. He pulled his gaze up to her face and could tell that she was masking tears.

"Wow… you look gor…"

"Don't," she warned with a cracking voice. "Can we just go?"

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, realizing that she was more than a little emotional about what they were about to do. "Is the diaper bag all set to go? Can I get anything to bring for the ride?"

"It's all set," she answered, pulling her keys out of her purse. Her words were short, as if she wanted to avoid all conversation beyond the essential words.

"I'm happy to drive," Johnny offered. "It's not too hard to get the car seat in my car."

She shook her head and tossed him her keys. "You can drive mine. Let's just get on the road."

_(Three hours later)_

Lulu opened her eyes and winced. The sunlight was bouncing off of the freshly fallen snow and preventing her from getting any sleep. She turned her head and looked in the backseat. Apparently her son was not having the same difficulty, because he was sound asleep.

"It shouldn't be too much longer," Johnny informed her. "I'm assuming that since both of you crashed as soon as the car started moving that he was up all night."

She shook her head. "No, he actually slept through the night. Car rides just put him to sleep. They have ever since he was born. I used to spend every night driving around Boston just to get him to fall asleep."

"I wonder where he got that," he smiled. "I certainly don't sleep in cars, and I seem to remember you loving the thrill of a good joyride."

"Yeah, well, I'm hoping he doesn't get that trait from either of us. I don't think I'll be able to sleep once he has his license," she remarked with a yawn.

"So if the little man slept all night," he observed aloud, "Can I ask why you are so tired?"

She bit her lower lip, debating as to how much she should divulge to him. Part of her wanted to keep Johnny far out of her life, at least as far as she could now that they would be husband and wife. But another part of her needed him to know that she had feelings for someone else, and that the marriage they were about to embark on was strictly one of convenience.

"I couldn't sleep," she started, opting for partial disclosure. "Patrick and I got into an argument."

He felt his jaw tighten. While he was aware of her involvement with the good doctor, he had hoped he never had to hear her say his name. And if an argument with him left her unable to sleep, she obviously had real feelings for Patrick Drake.

"Let me guess… he's doesn't approve of our impending nuptials?"

"I didn't tell him about Logan," she continued, "As much as I want to, and I know I can trust him, if I tell him everything, it makes him an accessory. He's all that his daughter has, so I can't risk him getting caught up in a murder investigation. So I had to tell him that we were getting married just so that I can appease you."

Before he could respond, they arrived at the wedding chapel. He pulled into the driveway and parked the car, looking over to her and taking her hand in his.

"Thank you for not running away with Brayden. I know you're making a huge sacrifice here, and it means the world to me. I am going to do everything I can to take care of you and Brayden and to keep our family intact."

"I know," she nodded, offering him a small grin.

_(Twenty minutes later)_

The small chapel was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers. Lulu held Brayden, who was still sound asleep, on her shoulder as the minister ushered them to the front.

"We do have a small nursery in the back," the minister offered. "We could take the little one back there to spend some time with my wife if you'd like…"

"He's fine," Johnny answered for both of them. He wanted Brayden with them. Even though he knew this wasn't the wedding he envisioned for them, one day he hoped they would share the story with their son, adding how they fell in love after that day and were happy to have him present when they committed their lives to one another.

"Then we can get started," the minister smiled. "Are we ready?"

Johnny looked to Lulu, who nodded at him. "Let's do this."

Lulu tried her hardest to focus in on the minister's speech about the significance of marriage. Instead, all she could focus on was Brayden's small heartbeat against her chest. He was the reason she was there. Marrying Johnny was a means to an end. It would keep Claudia out of their business and keep her child in her home.

It would also keep Johnny under the same roof. He had made his feelings for her clear before Christmas, and she could tell that he was taking the vows they were about to recite far more seriously than she was. She made a silent vow to herself that she would do everything in her power to let him down easily. She could not risk breaking his heart, but more importantly, she could not risk falling for Johnny Zacchara again.

"Lulu…" Johnny's voice pulled her out of her daze.

"Hmm?"

"It's your turn," he whispered, offering her a smile to urge her on.

"Oh… sorry," she apologized. She decided to push through the vows to the best of her memory without letting the minister interject. "I, Leslie Lu, take you, John, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'til death do us part."

"Wow… she's anxious," the minister joked. "And now for your vows, John…"

"I'd actually like to say my own vows if that's alright with you," he answered, turning his attention to Lulu and taking her free hand in his. He wanted to take this opportunity to share his real feelings with her, and since there was a minister present, she would have to listen.

"Lulu, the best day of my life was the day that our son was born. I thought I knew what love was, but I had no idea. Love is knowing that you would cease to exist without another person in your life… it's waking up every morning with a smile just because there's a chance you'll see them. I love Brayden with everything that I am, and I love you just as much for giving him to me. I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep our family together. I will love you both until the day I die, and I will never give up on us."

She did everything in her power to prevent it, but there was no stopping the tears that were in her eyes from spilling onto her cheeks. She was crying for several reasons – fear of this marriage backfiring and her losing her son, sadness over the prospect of breaking Johnny's heart, and – as much as she hated it – nervousness that she would be unable to keep the promise she made to herself that she would not fall in love with Johnny again.

It wasn't until she noticed Johnny removing two ring boxes from his pockets that she brought herself back to the present. She placed a traditional gold band on his finger and repeated the words that the minister recited. When Johnny took her hand in his, she expected to see the same type of band. Instead, he placed a gorgeous diamond on her finger, something that he had obviously hand-picked for her.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Before she could move, she felt Johnny's lips crash against hers. She wanted to hate it with every fiber of her being, but it felt right in some bizarre way. She responded just enough so that the minister wouldn't notice anything was wrong, but as soon as Johnny pulled away, she made a beeline back out to the car.

_(Later that night)_

Johnny pulled the car into Lulu's driveway and parked. The ride back home had been tortuously silent. He knew that his vows had freaked Lulu out, and he wanted to explain. But every explanation that would make her feel better would have been a lie. He meant every word he had said, and he wanted to kiss her just like he had when the ceremony had ended. He loved her, and denying it wouldn't change anything.

"So…" she remarked, saying her first word since the wedding, "I should probably make dinner for Brayden."

"Right," he agreed. "We should get some rest, too. The movers will be here pretty early tomorrow morning."

"Wow, I didn't realize you'd be packed up so soon," she replied as she got out of the car and retrieved Brayden from the backseat.

"Me packed up? No, they'll pack everything here in the morning."

She realized what he was saying and felt herself tense up. "No, that's not happening… I'm not moving into your loft."

"Lulu, it's a lot safer there. And I've already had the spare room turned into a bedroom for Brayden."

She led him inside the house and put Brayden down in his playpen with some toys before heading into the kitchen. She didn't want to fight with him in front of their son.

"And what am I supposed to do? Sleep in your bed? God, Johnny… I was afraid this was going to happen. It's not going to be like that…"

"Don't jump to conclusions," he tried to calm her down. "I was going to sleep on the couch."

"Yeah, I'm sure that was your plan," she rolled her eyes.

"Don't do that…"

"What?"

"Don't treat me like I'm some sort of evil bastard who is using this whole custody thing with Brayden to get into your pants. You know it's not like that."

"I know that…. I never called you evil. I just - I hate that I have to give people the impression of you as some terrible guy who is forcing me into marrying you!" she erupted, finally letting her feelings out. "And I hate that this is hurting Patrick. I hate everything about this situation!"

He crossed the kitchen and pulled her hands into his, running his thumb around her wedding ring. "I know, and I'm sorry that Claudia is putting you through this. I know that you didn't like breaking things off with Patrick, bu-"

"I didn't break things off with Patrick," she interrupted, pulling her hands away from him. "He's upset, yes… but I have every intention of making it up to him."

She could see the disappointment in his eyes, and she felt guilty for hurting him. But if this was the only way she could get him to get over her, she had to do it.

"Johnny, this marriage is just for Claudia's benefit," she continued. "It's not real."

"I know that," he covered, regaining his composure. "But Claudia has to believe it's real, or it's going to blow up in our faces. I assumed you understood that."

"I do," she nodded. "Claudia won't find out about me and Patrick. I promise. But we're living here… end of story."


	12. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Lulu rummaged through her closet searching for a perfect outfit which she was pretty sure didn't even exist. It wasn't every day that she needed to appear in front of a judge for a custody hearing. Though she knew that there was no risk of her losing Brayden, at least not on that day, she still felt so nervous that she could vomit.

Announcing that she and Johnny got married in open court was bound to cause chaos. There was no doubt in her mind that her brothers and friends would be there, ready to stand behind her. She knew that everything that happened the day before would blindside them, not to mention most of Port Charles. Things had finally settled down since Johnny's announcement on New Year's Eve that he was Brayden's father, but now it would be difficult to fly under the radar as the new Mrs. John Zacchara.

She wrapped her robe tightly around her body when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Johnny opened the door, but remained in the hallway. After Lulu's behavior the day before, he knew that he would need to give her plenty of space. If not, she could completely shut him out, which he couldn't risk. They had to keep a united front against Claudia if they had any hope of keeping Brayden's family intact.

"We're going to need to leave in ten minutes," he started, looking around the room for their son. "Do you want me to take Brayden and get him dressed?"

"Brayden's already at daycare," she answered, carrying a simple black dress out of the closet and laying it across the bed. "I got up early and brought him in."

"You're kidding, right?" Johnny remarked, failing to mask his frustration. Lulu turned to him and put her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"I'm just not sure daycare is the best place for him today," he started, careful to choose his words wisely. "I don't think Claudia would try anything, but just in case, I thought it would be better to keep him with us."

"I don't want to expose him to what might happen in court," she answered.

"I just wish you would have told me sooner," he sighed, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'll call and send security detail over there."

"Don't you think that's a little excessive?" Lulu argued. "The hospital has security, and his teachers know that we are the only ones allowed to pick him up. I don't want a couple of mob goons standing outside the door and scaring everybody."

"There is no such thing as excessive when it comes to protecting my family," he defended, dialing the number and waiting for an answer, "And I wouldn't have to do this if you would have consulted with me before dropping him off at the hospital."

"I'm sorry, but I don't need to consult you about anything, Johnny."

"Brayden is my son," he affirmed, using every ounce of self control to keep his voice lowered. He kept telling himself that she was being stubborn on purpose – that she wanted to get under his skin. It was all a part of her desperate attempt to keep him at arm's length. And out of all the people in his life, Lulu was especially gifted at getting him worked up. "And now, you are my wife, so while you may not like it, I still get a say when it comes to our son's safety."

Instead of responding, she crossed the room and closed the door in his face, locking it behind her.

**(General Hospital)**

"What are you still doing here? I took your afternoon consults so that you could be at the courthouse today. I know you're a little late, but if you left now, you could be there in time for the judge's ruling," Matt remarked from behind the nurses' station when he saw Patrick approaching with a stack of charts in his arms.

"I'm not going," Patrick answered simply. He had stayed up all night agonizing over his decision, but in the end, he decided he couldn't bear sitting in the courtroom to witness Johnny Zacchara announce to the world that he won. Not only did he intimidate Lulu into giving him full access to Brayden, but he convinced her to marry him.

"Your girlfriend is going in front of a judge in a custody hearing. Of course you're going," Matt argued.

"No, I'm not."

"Oh come on, whatever it is can wait. Lulu needs you there."

"She has her husband there," Patrick murmured with disdain.

"_Husband?_ What the hell are you talking about?"

Patrick rolled his eyes at his brother's outburst. Even though he was resentful of the situation, he didn't need the entire hospital gossiping about his personal business, so he led his brother into an exam room and closed the door behind them.

"Do you think you could be any louder?"

"Sorry, I just thought you said that Lulu was married," Matt defended.

"She is, or at least she should be by now," Patrick sighed, holding onto the last ounce of possibility that Lulu had backed out of the arrangement.

"Look, I get enough talking in riddles from my wife, so can you just give me the full story?"

"Johnny used this whole custody thing to get Lulu to marry him," Patrick explained, feeling his anger multiplying as the words escaped his mouth. "She told me that she was going to elope with him yesterday. She said it was the only way to keep Brayden."

"But there are no grounds to take custody away from Lulu. Johnny's a criminal, and he's barely been a part of Brayden's life until recently."

"Believe me, I know. Lulu was convinced that he had the judge in his pocket."

"She could have appealed if she lost the case today," Matt commented. "There's no way that a mobster is better suited to raise that kid."

Patrick shook his head and took a seat on the bed. "You and I can see that, but all she can think about is losing her child. As much as I hate her decision, I can understand how she made it."

"So she broke up with you?"

"Not exactly, but she's married now. You know I went through hell when Robin died. It took a lot for me to try and move on. Now I'm feeling something real for Lulu, but I don't think I could handle another loss."

"But you're saying that she didn't end things?"

"No."

Matt pulled the chart out of his brother's hands. "Then what the hell are you doing here?"

**(Courthouse)**

Lulu stood with her hands grasping the chair in front of her. It was the only way to keep herself from passing out as the judge approached the bench. She glanced over her shoulder at her brothers and Maxie. They had all given her so much support, and in about sixty seconds, her actions were going to throw them into a tailspin.

She turned her attention across the courtroom where Johnny stood next to the attorney that Claudia hired. She wondered what the outcome of the hearing would have been if she hadn't married him. _Would the judge have really given him custody? Would Claudia have enough evidence to send her to prison?_

"You may be seated," the judge instructed from his seat. "In the matter of custody of the minor child Brayden Spencer Zacchara, I have reached my decision."

"Your honor," Johnny's lawyer interrupted, "There has been a new development that negates the necessity of this hearing."

Lulu sunk into her chair and put her head in her hands, desperately wishing there was an easy escape from that room.

"I'll be the one to determine that," the judge replied, "Can you speak to this new development?"

"My client is dropping the custody suit."

Just as Johnny had expected, the entire room erupted. From family members to lawyers and court reporters, everybody vocalized their confusion at once, but Claudia's voice was by far the loudest. She stood behind him and practically screamed.

"No, he's not! Johnny, what the hell is this?!"

"Did you know about this?" Alexis whispered to Lulu, who remained silent.

"Order!" the judge commanded. "Quiet in the courtroom!"

"Your honor, I would like an explanation as to why my client was put through emotional turmoil, not to mention the financial implications of preparation for a custody trial for nothing," Alexis requested.

"I would like to know the same, Mr. Zacchara," the judge asserted, turning his attention to Johnny's attorney.

Johnny stood up and looked to Lulu before clearing his throat. "Your honor, I apologize for wasting your time, as well as everybody else's. But Lulu and I were able to work through our differences, so there's no need to move forward."

Claudia reached forward and pulled her brother to her by the arm. "What do you think you're doing? This wasn't part of the deal!"

"Mr. Zacchara!" the judge announced, his irritation apparent. "While I admire your intentions to work things out amicably with Ms. Spencer, we will need to get this custody arrangement in writing so that we don't wind up back in this room a year from now wasting more of the court's time."

"That won't be necessary," Johnny continued, pulling an envelope from his jacket pocket. "May I?"

The judge nodded his permission, and while Johnny approached the judge to hand him what Lulu knew was their marriage certificate, she focused her attention on a photo of Brayden that was paper-clipped to one of the file folders Alexis had laid out in front of them. She said a silent prayer that what she was doing would never backfire on her son.

"Well, this certainly does change the situation," the judge thought aloud.

"What is it?" Alexis questioned.

"A marriage certificate," the judge answered, "Apparently Mr. Zacchara and Ms. Spencer are legally married. And, as such, they will not require judgment in this matt-"

Chaos resumed before the judge could complete his statement. In the midst of it all, Lucky grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her to the side of the room.

"What did he do to you?" he questioned, desperately searching her eyes for answers. "How did he force you into marriage?"

"He didn't force me into anything," she answered, although it was not convincingly. "I wanted to marry Johnny. We reconnected over the past few weeks, and I – I love him."

Across the courtroom, Claudia stomped over to her brother. "You married that bitch!?"

"Watch how you talk about my wife," Johnny scolded.

"Your _wife?_ You've lost your mind, baby brother! The only thing that _woman_ wants from you is a payoff… she obviously got knocked up on purpose to keep a slice of our money, and now she's got you on the hook for half of everything you have!"

He shook his head. "I don't care what you think, Claudia. I married Lulu, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

He toned out his sister and looked across the room at his new bride, who was now surrounded by her brothers and Maxie. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was choking back tears while declaring her so-called love for him. Without hearing their words, he knew exactly what they were saying. Lucky and Ethan were most likely interrogating her, searching for some crime that Johnny had committed to force her into the marriage. Nikolas was probably declaring all of the ways he would rectify the situation, starting with getting the best attorney available to draw up annulment papers. And Maxie was likely questioning how they had reconnected and why she was never told.

"John, you're not listening to me!" Claudia screamed.

"And I won't," he answered in a warning tone. "Do me a favor, Claudia. Stay away from my wife and my son."

He crossed the room to Lulu's side and took her hand. "If you'll all excuse us, we need to go get Brayden from day care."

"You're not going anywhere with my sister!" Ethan yelled, grabbing Johnny by the shirt and shoving him against the wall. Nikolas and Lucky moved behind Ethan, ready to assist if needed. Lulu shoved Ethan away and slid her body between them.

"Leave him alone!"

"He's obviously taking advantage of you, Lu…" Lucky started.

"He is my husband and you need to respect that!"

"I expected so much more from you," Nikolas sighed. "It wasn't enough that you went ahead and had his child, but you had to let him back into your lives? Have you even considered what this is going to do to Brayden?"

"He's going to end up kidnapped or worse," Lucky added.

"What kind of a mother would knowingly expose her son to that kind of life?" Nikolas questioned.

"Enough!" Johnny snapped. Without another word, he led Lulu out into the hallway amidst everybody's protests. Once the door closed behind them, he released her hand.

"Don't listen to them, Lulu. They don't know the whole story…"

The tears that had been scratching the surface burst out when she looked up at him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. He knew that she was adamant that she would not let him in, but in that moment, she didn't have anybody else. It was a step in the right direction.


	13. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

"Nurse Zacchara!"

Lulu cringed at the name Epiphany chose to call her. While Leslie Lu Spencer Zacchara had been her legal name for a month, she had instructed everybody at the hospital to use only her first name. Apparently her supervisor had forgotten.

"Can you please just call me Lulu?" she begged as she turned around to face Epiphany. "I promise that it won't make anybody uncomfortable."

"The way I see it, you get hitched, you use the new name," Epiphany answered, "And I'm not going to waste anymore hospital time arguing this with you. Have you finished charting for Dr. Edwards yet?"

Lulu was finishing a 12-hour shift the night before when Dr. Edwards - the oldest, most chauvinist doctor on staff - dropped a massive pile of charts in front of her and demanded they be finished by morning. Now, thirteen hours later, she was ready to go home and get some sleep.

"They are all filed away."

"Perfect, because your shift starts in four minutes, and you're on ER duty today."

She looked at the clock and exhaled slowly to keep her irritation in check. Blowing up at Epiphany was only going to make things worse. "I thought that I was due for a surgical rotation."

"Are you questioning my position as head nurse?" Epiphany interrogated. "Because I have been in charge of the rotation schedule for years and everybody at this hospital has been quite pleased with the level of care they receive. Now, if you do not like the way I run this place, I suggest you find somewhere else to work."

"No, I'm not questioning you," Lulu admitted. Even if Epiphany refused to admit it, it was clear why she was not going to see the inside of an operating room anytime soon. In the four weeks since their argument, she had not seen Patrick once. In a town as small as Port Charles, that was no coincidence.

"Good, now off to the ER you go," Epiphany instructed, punching the elevator button for her before walking away.

Lulu closed her eyes for thirty seconds while waiting for the doors to open, as if it would be enough time to rejuvenate her body. Taking the five steps necessary to get into the elevator felt like running a marathon, so she knew it was going to be a long day.

"Hold the elevator!"

She stuck her hand out to stop the doors from closing until Matt got in the elevator with her.

"Lulu," he smiled once they were closed in the small space together. "Just the person I needed to track down today. Maxie has been trying to get in touch with you, and since you haven't returned any of her calls, it has now become my job to corner you."

Lulu sighed. "I know I haven't talked to Maxie in weeks, and I'm sorry. Between work and Brayden, I haven't been able to catch my breath."

"Well, you will need to soon, because my wife is desperate for a double date. She bought four tickets for some show in the city this weekend. One of them is yours. The only question remaining is who you're going to bring with you – your husband or your boyfriend?"

**(Kelly's)**

"Buddy, you have to eat something," Johnny sighed, cutting up a banana and placing it in front of his son. "Daddy's running late for a really important meeting, and you've already missed breakfast at day care."

"No!" Brayden argued, pressing the banana pieces between his fingers and slamming his hands on the table. Before Johnny could stop him, the toddler moved his hands into his hair and rubbed fruit all over it. Rather than show any remorse for his actions, the boy giggled at the reaction from his father.

"I'm assuming day care won't give you a bath, either," he groaned, struggling to wipe Brayden's hands clean against the child's will. "I don't know how your mother did this by herself for so long."

"Brayden!"

A little girl who looked vaguely familiar came up next to Johnny and gave his son a high five. Brayden's sour mood turned to giggles immediately.

"I'm Emma," the little girl told Johnny, "Brayden is my story buddy at school. Who are you?"

Johnny nodded, realizing the girl in front of him belonged to the man his wife claimed to be in love with. "My name is Johnny. Brayden is my son."

"I thought Brayden didn't have a daddy, just like I don't have a mommy anymore. She died."

Patrick stormed through the front doors in a panic and rushed to his daughter's side, pulling her into his arms. "Emma Grace, you know better than to rush that far in front of me on our walks! You scared me!"

"Daddy, I was fine," Emma explained. "I was with Brayden and Johnny. Did you know Johnny is Brayden's daddy?"

"I do," Patrick answered, glancing at Johnny.

"How come Brayden has gunk in his hair?" Emma continued questioning Johnny as she squirmed out of her father's grasp. "Is he playing with his food?"

"It's banana. I think he confused it with shampoo," Johnny answered. He returned Patrick' glance and cleared his throat. "Emma, could you try and get him to finish his breakfast? I need to talk to your dad for a minute."

Patrick hesitated for a moment, but wound up following Johnny to the back corner of the restaurant. He could still see the kids, but they were out of earshot of anybody else in the room. While a one-on-one conversation with Lulu's husband was not on his list of priorities, he was not about to turn down the opportunity to tell Johnny exactly what he thought about him.

"I'm going to make this really simple for you," Johnny started, "Brayden is _my_ son, and Lulu is my _wife_. So whatever you think you're going to accomplish by keeping her wrapped up in the affair the two of you have going on, it's not going to last. You two can sneak around that hospital all night long, but she comes home to me. And one of these days, she's going to realize that everything she needs is with Brayden and me."

Patrick frowned as he took in Johnny's words. "Is this the part where you make some thinly-veiled threat? Because unlike Lulu, I won't be intimidated into giving you what you want. I realize you've been raised to expect that from other people, but you don't scare me."

"Just consider yourself warned," Johnny finished, "Lulu is meant to be with me. We have a child together, and she's going to know that any day now."

**(General Hospital, 2 hours later)**

"Those test results aren't going to get up and find me all on their own, now, are they?" the newest doctor on staff commented snidely toward Lulu. "I expect you know your way around this place well enough to get some paperwork from the lab and return it to me?" 

"The lab technician told me that they would be ready in an hour," she answered. "He is going to page me as soon as that happens, and I will bring them to you in your office."

"I have a better idea," the older woman countered, "Why don't you go down to the lab and wait for them?"

"Of course," Lulu sighed, doing her best to mask her exhaustion. She started towards the lab, but only made it a few hundred feet before her pager went off.

_Trauma in Room 839_

She changed her direction and grabbed the first elevator to the eighth floor. She knew that she was bordering sheer exhaustion because she could not remember having a patient on the eighth floor. A small part of her was looking forward to having an extra hour to kill. She would have been able to swing by the day care to see Brayden. It had only been a few days, but the time away from her little boy was killing her. In her head, she knew that Johnny was taking care of him. But after spending so much time as a single parent, her heart was still adjusting to co-parenting.

Although she missed her son terribly, a small part of her was glad that her job was so demanding. The seventy hours a week she spent at the hospital were a welcomed distraction from the turmoil that had become her life. Her family didn't question all of her choices and motives at the hospital. She did not have to deal with Claudia's thorough inspections of her marriage while she was at work. And, most importantly, Johnny was not at the hospital. He was being very calm and understanding about everything, which only confused her. She needed to keep him at arm's length for the time being, figure out how to get Claudia off of her back and divorce him before her whole life went into a tailspin.

When she reached her destination, she took a deep breath as she pushed the door open, planning to come across a chaotic scene. Instead, she found an unoccupied room. She glanced down at her pager to double check the room number when she heard footsteps approach her and the door close.

"I'm sorry about the false page, but I didn't think you'd come if I called," the last voice she expected to hear spoke as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"I would have," she answered, shoving her pager back into her pocket. "I don't really have a right to tell you this, but I've missed you, Patrick."

'Have you told your husband?" he countered, leaning against the closed door. "Because he seems to believe you and I have been together a lot lately."

Lulu's eyes widened. "Johnny spoke to you?" 

"Oh, yeah, he was pretty verbal when I ran into him at Kelly's this morning."

"I'm not going to bother asking what he said to you, because I can practically hear him now," she groaned. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I just wanted to make it clear to Johnny that I wasn't going to fall in love with him because I have feelings for you."

"What he made clear to me is that I'm in his way. He wants me to back off so that you have time to realize your feelings for him or something like that, which is interesting considering the fact that we haven't spoken in all the time you two have been married."

"I promise you that I haven't been making up some epic romance between us," she explained. "I just haven't told Johnny about our break up."

"Is that what it was?" Patrick asked, stepping toward her. "A break up?"

Lulu took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure as he closed the distance between them. "Well, I thought it was. I mean, I don't want you to feel obligated to stick around while my whole life goes into chaos."

He reached forward and brushed a loose hair out of her eyes. "What Johnny made abundantly clear to me today is that his feelings for you are one-sided. I know you already told me that, but I guess I needed him to confirm it. I've been a real ass. Instead of standing by your side and helping you through this, I walked away. I just couldn't get past you marrying John Zacchara."

"It's not your fault," she murmured, staring at her shoes. "I didn't tell you the whole story."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed and looked into his eyes. "I did marry Johnny so that I could keep Brayden, but it wasn't because he bought off a judge. He never even sued me for custody. His sister filed the suit in his name without him knowing."

"Claudia?"

Lulu nodded. "She's always hated me, but it really got under her skin that she didn't know about Johnny's son. She has made it her personal mission to make sure Johnny has full custody of Brayden, all while punishing me. So when Brayden's paternity came out, she lost it. She put it all into motion, and she was convinced that it would end with Johnny having our son all to himself."

"Lulu, I get that Claudia is evil, but if Johnny really cared about you or your son, he would have just put an end to the law suit…"

"He was going to," she started, "But Claudia is blackmailing me. She knows about something I did a long time ago, and if Johnny would have stopped the custody hearing, she was going to use it against me."

"What could she possibly have on you?"

She shook her head. "I can't tell you."

"Lulu, you can trust me," he encouraged, framing her face with his hands.

"I _do_ trust you," she argued, "That's not the issue. If I tell you what I did, and it all comes out, you could be in trouble with the law."

"And Emma could lose the only parent she has left," he exhaled, putting it all together. "Which is why you didn't tell me everything weeks ago."

"I'm so sorry," Lulu whispered.

"Don't…" he interrupted. Without any more words, Patrick leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. It was a brief moment, but enough to reassure them both that their connection was still strong. When their lips parted, he rested his forehead on hers.

"I'm the one that should be apologizing. I should have been around to help you with all of this instead of bailing on you. I just didn't want to get too close if it was going to end badly. I don't think I could handle it, and I know for a fact that Emma couldn't."

Lulu pulled away from him and crossed the room to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Believe me, that's the last thing I want to happen. I have real feelings for you, and I adore Emma."

Patrick took a seat alongside her. "So what exactly is the timeline on your marriage? Because Johnny sure seems to think this is a forever arrangement."

"No, it's nothing like that. I can't stand the thought of Brayden being raised under a roof with a fake marriage as his example. As soon as I can get Claudia to back off, I'm getting an annulment."

"I don't know much about Claudia Zacchara, but I think it's safe to assume that she isn't just going to back off anytime soon," he argued.

"You have no idea," she sighed, glancing at the door to ensure they were still in privacy. "Which is what brings me to the part of all of this that Johnny can't find out about."

"Now this is really starting to feel like an extramarital affair…" he joked.

"I'm serious," she groaned.

"I know, I'm sorry. Continue."

"I'm going to find something on Claudia that will make her back off. Spinelli has been doing a lot of digging into her past, and we're going to find something. And as soon as we do, I'll be on the first flight to the Dominican Republic for an annulment."


End file.
